|Publication number||US7758647 B2|
|Application number||US 10/565,205|
|Publication date||Jul 20, 2010|
|Filing date||Jul 25, 2004|
|Priority date||Jul 25, 2003|
|Also published as||DE112004001370B4, DE112004001370B8, DE112004001370T5, US20060190083, WO2005009299A1|
|Publication number||10565205, 565205, PCT/2004/674, PCT/IL/2004/000674, PCT/IL/2004/00674, PCT/IL/4/000674, PCT/IL/4/00674, PCT/IL2004/000674, PCT/IL2004/00674, PCT/IL2004000674, PCT/IL200400674, PCT/IL4/000674, PCT/IL4/00674, PCT/IL4000674, PCT/IL400674, US 7758647 B2, US 7758647B2, US-B2-7758647, US7758647 B2, US7758647B2|
|Inventors||Uri Arnin, Yuri Sudin, Michael Tauber|
|Original Assignee||Impliant Ltd.|
|Export Citation||BiBTeX, EndNote, RefMan|
|Patent Citations (27), Non-Patent Citations (1), Referenced by (9), Classifications (34), Legal Events (4) |
|External Links: USPTO, USPTO Assignment, Espacenet|
Elastomeric spinal disc nucleus replacement
US 7758647 B2
A spinal disc nucleus replacement including an elastomeric sheath (12) assembled around a rod (14), a portion of the sheath being arranged for sliding along the rod, and a sheath compactor (18) adapted to slide a portion of the sheath along the rod from a first position to a second position, wherein in the first position the sheath is in a non-expanded orientation and in the second position the sheath is in an expanded orientation wherein folds of the sheath expand radially outwards from the rod.
1. A spinal disc nucleus replacement comprising:
an elastomeric sheath surrounding an outside portion of a flexible rod having opposite ends, a portion of said sheath being arranged for sliding along said rod; and
a sheath compactor adapted to slide a portion of said sheath along said rod from a first position to a second position, wherein the second position is more distal into a patient than the first position, wherein in the first position said sheath is in a non-expanded orientation and in the second position said sheath is in an expanded orientation wherein folds of said sheath expand radially outwards from said outside portion of said rod, wherein said elastomeric sheath surrounds the outside portion of the rod both in the non-expanded and expanded orientations and wherein said folds in the expanded orientation comprise a plurality of crests and troughs wherein said rod is flexed into an arcuate shape, and wherein the opposite ends of said rod are fastened together to retain said accurate shape.
2. The spinal disc nucleus replacement according to claim 1, wherein a stopper is at a distal portion of said rod and said sheath compactor is adapted to push a distal portion of said sheath against said stopper.
3. The spinal disc nucleus replacement according to claim 1, wherein a removable fastening ring holds a portion of said sheath to said rod.
4. The spinal disc nucleus replacement according to claim 1, wherein said rod comprises a removable portion.
5. The spinal disc nucleus replacement according to claim 1, wherein said rod is constructed of at least one of a shape memory alloy and a shape memory polymer.
6. The spinal disc nucleus replacement according to claim 1, wherein said rod is withdrawable and removable from said sheath.
7. The spinal disc nucleus replacement according to claim 1, wherein said folds of said sheath expand outwards generally uniformly.
8. The spinal disc nucleus replacement according to claim 1, wherein said folds of said sheath expand outwards non-uniformly.
9. The spinal disc nucleus replacement according to claim 1, wherein a distance between folds of said sheath varies axially along said rod.
10. The spinal disc nucleus replacement according to claim 1, wherein there are more folds on one side of said sheath than on another side of said sheath.
11. The spinal disc nucleus replacement according to claim 1, further comprising an anchor for attachment to spinal structure.
12. The spinal disc nucleus replacement according to claim 1, further comprising a guiding wire for introducing said sheath thereover.
13. The spinal disc nucleus replacement according to claim 12, further comprising another stopper placed at an end of said guiding wire that stops said sheath from progressing further than a length of said guiding wire.
14. The spinal disc nucleus replacement according to claim 1, wherein said sheath is constructed of at least one of polyurethane, latex, natural rubber, silicone rubber, nylon, and shape memory polymer.
15. The spinal disc nucleus replacement according to claim 1, wherein said troughs of said elastomeric sheath are adjacent said rod.
16. The spinal disc nucleus replacement according to claim 1, wherein said folds of said sheath are spaced generally equally from each other.
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
This application claims priority under 35 USC §119 to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/489,914, filed Jul. 25, 2003, and U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/512,192, filed on Oct. 20, 2003, which are both incorporated herein by reference.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a prosthetic spinal disc nucleus and, more particularly, to a prosthetic spinal disc nucleus which includes an elastomeric sheath and medial rod. The sleeve bearing sheath may be implanted in a narrow form and subsequently widened by contraction of the sleeve axially upon the rod thereby causing the prosthetic spinal disc nucleus to occupying an increased portion of the volume of an intra-discal space.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The intervertebral disc is composed of three distinctively different tissues: annulus fibrosis, nucleus pulposus, and vertebral endplate. Treatment of spinal disc disorders is often attempted by replacement of the disc nucleus (prosthetic nuclear implantation). This procedure is of importance because it can preserve the remaining disc tissues, that is, the annulus and the endplates, and therefore can preserve their functions. The primary objectives of prosthetic nucleus implantation are to re-gain the disc space and to relieve the compressive load on this disc component by sharing a significant portion of that load.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,800,549 to Bao describes implanting one or several (four implants were used in one example) dehydrated prosthetic hydrogel nuclei into the intradiscal space. Subsequent to implantation these implanted nuclei hydrate to a shape conforming to the natural nucleus. Bao also describes an insertion device for inserting an elastic prosthetic spinal nucleus into the intervertebral space. The insertion device includes a force-transmitting element for a rapid deployment of the prosthesis into the disc space in order to prevent permanent deformation of the elastic prosthetic nucleus. These implants taught by Bao are relatively large and have to be compressed in order to pass through the device for subsequent hydration. The embodiments of Bao have several disadvantages. First, the implant's size increases as it hydrates to its maximum volume. It is not feasible to precisely match the implant size to the desired intradiscal space (former nucleus), and therefore it cannot exert the optimum pressure on the vertebrae. In addition, during the hydration process, the core-containing jacket occupies a smaller space than the intradiscal space and is free to move around into a less favorable location while it is hydrating. Moreover, high pressure must be exerted on the implant in order to pass it through the insertion device. This process can release the implant at a high velocity into the intradiscal space and possibly damage the annulus.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,022,376 to Assell describes a capsule shaped prosthetic spinal disc nucleus for implantation into a human intradiscal space, made of a substantially inelastic constraining jacket surrounding an amorphous core. The jacket according to Assell is percutaneously implanted into a damaged disc space through a flap created in the annulus. The jacket can be implanted empty and then subsequently filled with the core through the use of a syringe or a catheter, which is directed to pass through the constraining jacket, or alternatively a core-containing jacket can be implanted. In both of these cases according to Assell, a final capsule volume is achieved following the hydration of the hydrogel core. Thus, like Bao, the teachings of Ansell have an inherent disadvantage of a small implant volume at the time of implantation that increases in volume over time. Further, the length of the flap according to Assell is about 12 millimeters and has a height of about 6 millimeters for use with a prosthetic body having a minor axis diameter of 7 millimeters. The relatively large size of the flap is an inherent and insurmountable drawback of the Assell device. Further, during the time that hydration takes place the core-containing jacket occupies a smaller space than in its final position and is free to move around into a less favorable position.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,306,177 to Felt describes the use of a curable polyurethane biomaterial composition adapted to be mixed at the time of use in order to provide a flowable composition and to initiate cure. Although the system according to Felt seemingly solves the problem of not completely filling up the available space, several drawbacks exist in Felt's system. These drawbacks include, among others, the unknown biostability of the thermoset polyurethane, the intricate instrumentation needed for the in-situ curing and the curing time which may be too rapid (less than a few minutes) for any last minute modifications.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,676,665 to Foley et al. describes instrumentation for treatment of the spine, including an elongate member having a deformable distal end portion at least partially formed of a flexible and preferably elastic material. The distal end portion has an initial configuration for placement adjacent a vertebral body and a deformed configuration defining at least one outwardly extending projection for displacement of at least a portion of the vertebral body. The elongate member preferably comprises a rod member, a sleeve member and an actuator mechanism for imparting relative linear displacement between the rod and sleeve members to effect outward deformation of the distal end portion of the sleeve member. In one embodiment, the instrumentation is used to compact cancellous bone to form a cavity within a vertebral body. In another embodiment, the instrumentation is used to reduce a compression fracture. In yet another embodiment, the instrumentation is used to distract a disc space between adjacent vertebral bodies.
Although many prosthetic disc devices are described in the literature, there is still a need for improvement in ease of manufacture and performance.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention is directed to an elastomeric spinal disc nucleus replacement, as is described more in detail hereinbelow.
There is thus provided in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention a spinal disc nucleus replacement including an elastomeric sheath assembled around a rod, a portion of the sheath being arranged for sliding along the rod, and a sheath compactor adapted to slide a portion of the sheath along the rod from a first position to a second position, wherein in the first position the sheath is in a non-expanded orientation and in the second position the sheath is in an expanded orientation wherein folds of the sheath expand radially outwards from the rod.
The spinal disc nucleus replacement can include one or more of the following features. For example, a stopper may be at a distal portion of the rod and the sheath compactor may push a distal portion of the sheath against the stopper. A removable fastening ring may hold a portion of the sheath to the rod. The rod may include a removable portion. The rod may be flexible, and may be flexed into an arcuate shape. The rod may be constructed of a shape memory alloy or polymer, for example. The ends of the rod may be fastenable together. The rod may be withdrawn and removed from the sheath. The folds of the sheath may expand outwards generally uniformly or non-uniformly. The distance between folds of the sheath may vary axially along the rod. There may be more folds on one side of the sheath than on another side of the sheath. An anchor may be provided for attachment to spinal structure. A guiding wire may be provided for introducing the sheath thereover.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
In the drawings:
FIG. 1 is a cross sectional side view of one embodiment of the present invention in an uncompacted form, including a sheath disposed over a rod;
FIG. 2 is a cross sectional side view of the embodiment of FIG. 1 in a compacted form (that is, the sheath is in an expanded orientation and compacted along the length of the rod) prior to removal of an exposed medial rod;
FIG. 3 is a cross sectional side view of the embodiment of FIG. 1 in the compacted form following the removal of the exposed medial rod;
FIG. 4 is a perspective cut away view of one embodiment of an elastomeric prosthetic spinal disc nucleus implant according to the present invention;
FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of an intra-discal space showing two compacted elastomeric prosthetic spinal disc nucleus implants according to the present invention in situ;
FIG. 6 is a cross sectional side view of an additional embodiment of the present invention featuring a medial rod with shape memory in the compacted form following the removal of the exposed medial rod;
FIG. 7 is a cross sectional side view of yet another embodiment of the present invention featuring a medial rod with shape memory in the compacted form following the removal of the exposed medial rod;
FIG. 8 is a view of an intra-discal space showing a compacted elastomeric prosthetic spinal disc nucleus implant featuring a medial rod with shape memory according to the present invention in situ;
FIG. 9 is a top view of the implant of FIG. 8 shown in place in a disc space with the adjacent vertebra removed for the illustration;
FIG. 10 is a top view of the implant of FIG. 8 shown in place in a disc space with the adjacent vertebra in place for the illustration;
FIG. 11 is a view of an embodiment of the invention in which an anchor is fastened into an endplate;
FIG. 12 is a top view of an embodiment of the invention in which a sheath is introduced over a guiding wire; and
FIG. 13 is another top view of an embodiment of the invention in which a sheath is introduced over a guiding wire in which the sheath is progressing down the guiding wire.
DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS
Reference is now made to FIG. 1, which illustrates an elastomeric prosthetic spinal disc nucleus implant 10 in its form prior to implantation, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. An elastomeric sheath 12, illustrated in its elongated form, may be assembled around an inner rod 14. Some non-limiting examples of elastomers suitable for constructing sheath 12 are polyurethane, latex, natural rubber, silicone rubber, nylon, and shape memory polymer. Rod 14 may be cylindrical in shape with a generally circular cross section, but the invention is not limited to this shape and rod 14 may have any other shape or cross section as well. A stopper 16 may be at or near one end of rod 14, attached to or integrally formed with sheath 12 and/or rod 14. Inner rod 14 and stopper 16 may be fashioned from any rigid material such as a hardened plastic or a metal and may have a unitary (i.e., one-piece) construction or may be constructed of a plurality of parts joined by one or more junctures 13.
A sheath compactor 18 may be used to compact sheath 12 from a first elongated and narrow form to a second compacted and thicker form wherein sheath 12 is compacted toward stopper 16. The implant 10 in its elongated form is configured to enter a small hole (for example, 6 mm or less in diameter) and can expand subcutaneously to a diameter greater than the entry hole.
Before compacting, the maximum thickness of the sheath is much thinner than after compacting, which allows for a minimal invasive procedure and enabling the procedure to be performed with a standard instrument set for percutaneous spine surgery.
A fastening ring 20 may be used to hold sheath 12 before and/or after compression by compactor 18.
Reference is now made to FIG. 2, which illustrates the elastomeric containing prosthetic spinal disc nucleus implant 10 after expansion to the expanded orientation, for insertion into place within the intra-discal space (not shown). The sheath compactor 18 has been moved further down inner rod 14 toward stopper 16 (i.e., to the left in the sense of the illustration). Folds of sheath 12 bulge outwards in the expanded orientation in an accordion-like manner. The amount the folds of sheath 12 bulge outwards is a function of the final position of sheath compactor 18. This position of sheath compactor 18 may be predetermined before the procedure by using radiological or other means, for example. Sheath compactor 18 may be first detached from fastening ring 20 in order to move it along rod 14. Afterwards, fastening ring 20 may be re-attached at the final position on inner rod 14 by any one of numerous means including a catch and a ratchet, snap, thread, etc.
A portion 22 of inner rod 14 that may be uncovered or exposed by sheath 12 may now be separated (detached and removed) from the implant 10, such as by breaking it off the rest of inner rod 14 or by unscrewing portion 22 at any one of a number of predetermined places such as at juncture 13, as seen in FIG. 3.
FIG. 4 is a perspective cut-away view of elastomeric prosthetic spinal disc nucleus implant 10 illustrated in its final compacted form.
FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of an intra-discal space showing two compacted elastomeric prosthetic spinal disc nucleus implants 10 in situ.
According to some embodiments of the invention, rod 14 may be flexible. In such an embodiment, rod 14 may be constructed, without limitation, from a flexible plastic (e.g., polyurethane, nylon, shape memory polymer) or flexible metal (e.g., stainless steel, shape memory alloy such as NITINOL), and may be constructed similarly to catheters and guide wires used in angioplasty. This allows implant 10 to assume a curved configuration such as, for example arcuate (FIG. 6) or circular (FIG. 7). These embodiments are expected to find utility in a variety of medical applications including, but not limited to, spinal disc nucleus replacement and meniscus replacement or in other places where it is necessary to replace or add tissue with the additional advantage of the cushioning affect of the elastomeric sheath 12.
In an embodiment wherein rod 14 is constructed from a shape memory alloy or polymer, rod 14 may be held in a straight configuration by an external force and assume the desired curved configuration when the external force is removed. The required external force may be supplied, for example, by a removable rigid core within rod 14 or by a rigid tube which contains rod 14 and sheath 12. In such a flexible embodiment, two ends of rod 14 may be fastened together (with any suitable fastener, such as but not limited to, screws, clips, snaps, bonding, sonic welding, VELCRO and the like) in order to retain a shape.
In accordance with a further embodiment of the invention, the inner rod 14 may be used for guiding sheath 12 to the intra-discal space, and may be withdrawn and removed from the intra-discal space following expansion of sheath 12.
In the illustrated embodiment, the folds of sheath 12 expand outwards generally uniformly. However, the invention also encompasses non-uniform expansion, which may be achieved by varying the distance between folds in sheath 12 axially along rod 14 (that is, axially different spacing of the folds), or alternatively, by varying the number of folds in sheath 12 on different sides of rod 14 (that is, radially different spacing of the folds).
Combinations of axial and radial differentiation, in combination with flexible rods 14, enable producing virtually any shape of implant 10, whether symmetric or asymmetric.
FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view of an intra discal space 30 showing a compacted elastomeric prosthetic spinal disc nucleus implant featuring sheath 12 on a medial rod 14 with tensile memory in situ.
According to some embodiments of the invention, implant 10 may be attached or anchored into one of the adjacent vertebral bones. This may help in keeping implant 10 in place and prevent any dislodgement or movement. Such an embodiment is illustrated in FIG. 9, which is a top view of implant 10 shown in place in a disc space with the adjacent vertebra removed for the illustration. An anchor 32 may be integrally formed with implant 10 or alternatively attached to implant 10 at one end either before or after the implant is attached to an adjacent vertebra. Attachment may be accomplished by means of one or more fasteners 34, such as but not limited to, screws, rivets, bolts and the like.
FIG. 10 is a top view of implant 10 shown in place in a disc space and attached or anchored into one of the adjacent vertebral bones with fastener 34. FIG. 11 illustrates another embodiment of the invention, in which an anchor 36 may be anchored into the vertebral bone through the endplate of at least one of the adjacent vertebrae either prior to or after implant 10 has been placed.
Reference is now made to FIGS. 12 and 13, which illustrate an embodiment of the invention in which sheath 12 is introduced over a guiding wire 40. The guiding wire 40 may be first placed in the intra-discal space as illustrated in FIG. 12. The guiding wire 40 may be made of shape memory metal rod, and may be arcuate or circular when released into the intra-discal space. An applicator 42 may be used to introduce either or both of the guiding wire 40 or the sheath 12 into the intra-discal space prior to expanding sheath 12. After the guiding wire 40 is in place, implant 10 may be fed into the intra-discal space over the guiding wire 40 in an uncompacted form (that is, contracted, non-expanded orientation) and then may be compacted to a thicker form, as described hereinabove. A stopper 44 may be placed at the end of the guiding wire 40 that will stop the sheath 12 from progressing further than the length of the guiding wire 40. FIG. 13 illustrates the embodiment as illustrated in FIG. 12 showing the sheath 12 approximately over half way down the guiding wire 40 in a direction towards the stopper 44. After sheath 12 reaches stopper 44, guiding wire 40 may be tethered so that sheath may be compacted on guiding wire 40 in a direction towards stopper 44, as described hereinabove. Inner rod 14 may be hollow in order to accommodate guide wire 40.
Although the invention has been described in conjunction with specific embodiments thereof, it is evident that many alternatives, modifications and variations will be apparent to those skilled in the art. Accordingly, it is intended to embrace all such alternatives, modifications and variations.
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| || |
|International Classification||A61F2/02, A61F2/30, A61F2/00, A61F2/44, A61F2/46|
|Cooperative Classification||A61F2002/30495, A61F2/442, A61F2002/30545, A61F2230/0065, A61F2220/0033, A61F2250/001, A61F2310/00017, A61F2002/30131, A61F2002/302, A61F2002/30579, A61F2002/30092, A61F2230/0069, A61F2002/30069, A61F2002/30224, A61F2002/4415, A61F2002/444, A61F2002/30601, A61F2002/30919, A61F2002/30738, A61F2002/30235, A61F2002/30331, A61F2250/0009, A61F2210/0014, A61F2002/30556, A61F2002/30578, A61F2220/0025, A61F2230/0013|
|Jul 7, 2014||FPAY||Fee payment|
Year of fee payment: 4
|Jul 7, 2014||SULP||Surcharge for late payment|
|Feb 28, 2014||REMI||Maintenance fee reminder mailed|
|Aug 17, 2011||AS||Assignment|
Free format text: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST;ASSIGNOR:IMPLIANT LTD.;REEL/FRAME:026761/0863
Owner name: PREMIA SPINE LTD., ISRAEL
Effective date: 20110531


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domain: design


Jean Renoir’s A Day in the Country comes at a curious point in the director’s career. In 1936, he had several exceptional silent films to his credit, as well as such classics of early French sound cinema as La Chienne (1931), Boudu Saved from Drowning (1932), and The Crime of Monsieur Lange (1936), among others. But he had still not yet achieved his singular place on world cinema’s pre-war stage. That he would do just a year later, with La Grande Illusion (1937). As noted on the new Criterion Blu-ray, A Day in the Country was “conceived as a short feature…[and] nearly finished production in 1936 when Renoir was called away for The Lower Depths. Shooting was abandoned then, but the film was completed with the existing footage by Renoir’s team and released in its current form in 1946, after the director had already moved on to Hollywood.” Still, despite its unorthodox production and release, this little gem—little only because of its 41-minute runtime—is something special.
Based on a short story by Guy de Maupassant, the plot of A Day in the Country is admittedly slight. All aboard a borrowed milk cart, a Parisian hardware store owner and his family travel to the country, seeking rest and relaxation, seeking, as an opening title card states, to “commune with nature.” While there, little dramas unfold as they lazily lounge, play, and mingle with the residents and workers of a quaint provincial inn. The most prominent aspect of the narrative is the fleeting love that blooms between daughter Henriette Dufour (the beautiful Sylvia Bataille), and one of the young men employed at the inn, Henri (Georges D’Arnoux).
Henriette’s presence sends Henri reeling, and he and his associate in work and romantic conquest, Rodolphe (Jacques B. Brunius), lustily leer at the girl as she elegantly and captivatingly swings. The audience too is enamored—this image of Bataille swinging is one of the most glorious in cinema history. For his part, Rodolphe sets his sights on the voluptuous and giddy mother, played by Jane Marken. Henriette is initially averse to Henri’s amorous advances, but Madame Dufour seems excitedly complicit, or perhaps just naive. It’s innocent enough in any case, and besides, the boisterous Monsieur Dufour (André Gabriello) is busy with his assistant, Anatole (Paul Temps), spouting off his words of wisdom, mostly about fishing. The analogy between these two and their sport and Rodolphe and Henri and theirs is a pointed one, with echoes of bait, tactic, and the ultimate attainment of their objects of desire.
A storm interrupts the pleasant summer weather, and it metaphorically signals an end to the romantic idyll. It was also noted in the opening title card that Anatole would soon be Monsieur Dufour’s son-in-law, and so it is. In the epilogue, we see that indeed Henriette has married the assistant and the two have returned to the country setting. There she again meets Henri and it becomes tragically clear that there was genuinely something meaningful in their one and only afternoon together. This heartrending witness to a romance that could have been were it not for the almost predestined marriage between Anatole and Henriette, is powerful, and as Renoir noted, “The theme is so important that it could very well have been a full-length film. A tale of disappointed love, followed by a ruined life could furnish matter for a long novel.”
Throughout the film, contributing to a sense that whatever transpires during this excursion is not meant to be, or at least not meant to last, is the constant discussion of the country and its foreignness, in general and compared to the urban Paris. That alone seems to be a sort of barrier for the transpiring romance, as if distance from the city, or a difference in surroundings, automatically hinders a relationship. There is also talk of nature and her secrets, of the insects and their own potential love lives; Henriette speaks of feeling funny in nature, having a “tenderness,” a “vague sort of yearning.” This setting may as well be another planet for the city-dwellers.
On the one hand, there are the obvious physical contrasts between the city and the country, with the trees, rivers, and open air, and the city, where, according to the characters, there isn’t enough oxygen. On the other hand, the contrast illustrates the romantic view with which the country is observed, by the characters and by Renoir. To the Dufour family, there is something ethereal about the dirt, the cherries, and the foliage. Similarly, Renoir lovingly shoots the water, the plants, the earth. Like the earliest Lumière films, there is an intrinsic cinematic fascination with the mere depiction of nature’s movements and details. This imagery is all the more pronounced thanks to the quality of this Blu-ray transfer.
There can be little doubt that Renoir’s treatment of nature is also under the influence of his father. In an interview on the Criterion disc, Christopher Faulkner goes into great detail about the aesthetic similarities between the art of Renoir the father and Renoir the son, and some rather revealing examples of Pierre-Auguste’s work are shown in convincing comparison. Even the Forest of Fontainebleau setting for A Day in the Country was likewise a favored backdrop for Impressionist painters. And as Gilberto Perez notes in his essay, “The film version of Maupassant’s story made by Renoir … conducts something of a dialogue between the painter and the writer.”
The connection to his father notwithstanding, Renoir made A Day in the Country something of a family affair in other respects as well. He himself appears alongside his lover and partner, Marguerite Renoir, who also edited the film in Renoir’s absence, and credited elsewhere are nephew, Claude Renoir, as cinematographer, and son, Alain, as the young boy fishing at the start of the movie. Not related by blood but by cinema, assistants on the film included Jacques Becker (who directed potions of the film while Renoir was away), Henri Cartier-Bresson, and Luchino Visconti. Nearly everyone above is seen in Un tournage à la campagne, a nearly 90-minute compilation of outtakes from the film. This is a fascinating historical document, revealing rare glimpses of Renoir’s working methods and the candid behavior of those involved (one also sees young Alain holding the clapperboard).
In his introduction to the film, Renoir says he wanted to make “a short film that was as well-made as a feature film.” While that in itself isn’t overly exceptional, especially given that, among other examples, Renoir’s fellow countryman Jean Vigo had directed the wonderful Zero for Conduct (41 minutes) just three years prior, he does also allude to having had in mind potential omnibus programs made up of several such high quality shorts. That farsighted notion did reach a point of popularity and uneven success in the 1950s and ’60s.
Renoir also speaks about the benefits of using preexisting material, like the Guy de Maupassant story, as a place from which to launch a film. In favor of plagiarism, Renoir views source material as a “framework to embellishments.” By using a story from another, Renoir contends that the filmmaker is free from unimportant details—details, he says, like the story. To follow his line of thinking then, if A Day in the Country is what such cinematic freedom looks like, long live plagiarism.


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With the NFL draft upon us it’s a great opportunity to take stock of your team, your favorite players and remember some those great players that were drafted in the later rounds. Time to take a Fangirl look at NFL Draft Diamonds in the rough.
Browsing: Brandon Marshall
As the RedBirds wave goodbye to the playoffs, we continue to look ahead as the Cardinals take on the New York Giants in the second to last game of the year.
The 0-9 San Francisco 49ers are officially the walking wounded.
Hope everyone is feeling well rested from the bye week! Welcome to this weeks edition of Talking Touchdowns. The Rams are about to take on the New York Giants and I’ve got a few things to keep your eye on.
The Seahawks are fresh off a much needed bye week and will be heading to East Rutherford to face the New York Giants who just won their very first game of the season.
The Los Angeles Chargers secure their first W of the season on New York Giants home turf, 27-22. Chargers leave fans apprehensive until final minutes.
The Chargers will play their second away game this season in the “Big Apple” as they go on to face the New York Giants. With both teams having 0 – 4 records, one of these teams will have to get their first win of season. Let’s find out what team has a shot of taking the win in this week’s matchup.
It’s hard being a fan. It’s not chopping down trees hard, but it’s hard. It’s…

domain: sports


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THE NATIONAL DODGEBALL LEAGUE is preparing for the 2013 Championship Tour. Keep an eye on this site for upcoming dates and events as we kick off this season with the Dodgeball World Championship. Want to get your venue, club, league or dodgeball event listed? Contact us to learn how to become an officially sanctioned NDL affiliate.
- Click on: Get info on upcoming events.
- Click on: Visit an Recap Website.
The NDL Championship Tour
Does your team have what it takes! Join the NDL on it's NDL Championship Tour and show us your dodgeball skills in tournament play. You've told us you're the "Best of the Best", throw like a cannon and can dodge a bullet. Here's yoru chance, show us what you've got, we're waiting.
DEFINING THE DIVISIONS
- Foam Ball division games are played with six - 8.25" balls form balls.
- Stinger Division games are played with four 8.5" rubber balls and two 5" Stingers.
- 8.5" Division games are played with six 8.5" rubber balls.
- An Open division team may consist of players of any gender, including all the same gender.
- A Co-ed team must start each game with at least two women on court. ( Our rules allow for a co-ed team to play with one female, but the team must play one player down. And, if for any reason the one female is unable to start due to ejection or injury, the team will forfeit those games.)
- Games are played six on six, you may have up to ten players on your roster. New players may cycle in at the start of a new game. Players may only play on one team per division.
- Divisions are first come first serve. If for any reason we are unable to make room in, schedule or fill a division, the NDL will contact your Team Captain to make arrangements for your team to compete in another division.
PROFESSIONAL SCOUTING & TRYOUTS
Join the ranks of the select few that call themselves professional dodgeballers. If you are 18 or older and feel that you have what it takes to be a part of this elite dodgeball league. Show us what you’ve got. Members of the NDL Pro League will be on hand watching and scouting for the "best of the best". That means well-rounded players with great attitudes.
Don't forget to come back and check out the recap sites. These will have the winners and pictures from the event.
REQUEST A STOP
Don't see your state on the list? Fill out a Contact Form and let us know where to go next.
- Warrenton, VA
- Orange, CA
- Buffalo, NY
- Seattle, WA
- Dallas, TX
- Mpls. / St. Paul, MN
- Chicago, IL
- Harrisonville, MO
- Sudbury / Boston, MA
- Dublin, OH
- Malta, NY
- Phoenix, AZ
- Las Vegas, NV - 2007 DWC

domain: game


text:
Some recipes to try
These cookie recipes were provided by members of Pink Streeters Relay for Life team.
Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
1 1⁄2 cups unsifted all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
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domain: topicality


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It wouldn't have even had to be particularly fast. If they could have put a Mazda sports car engine in it (for example) and turned some laps at Indy, Homestead, and Mid-Ohio without looking silly, that would have eased a lot of fears among decision makers (based on Purnell's comments).
Alas, that was probably prohibitive given what it takes to build a car. As it was, they were the only proposal that even built a damn model. Man, if they had even cut out the wheel wells to nip the "but it can't turn!" calls, it would have been better. And maybe something other than battleship grey paint, huh?
It's like they hated marketing so much, they designed the project to fail.


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Is Laser Hair Removal Actually Permanent?
Let’s talk about how effective you can expect your laser hair removal to be.
Removal v. Reduction
The FDA does not allow laser hair removal to be described as "permanent" because there is some potential for hair regrowth. However, that does not mean that it doesn't work, or that you won't have permanent results.
Unlike other methods of dealing with unwanted hair, laser hair removal actually destroys the hair follicle so that the hair will not regrow.
Hairs that are tough to remove
There are fine, white hairs all over our bodies called “Lanugo” that don’t respond well to lasers. Similarly, grey hair doesn’t respond well to lasers, either. These light-colored hairs aren’t a clear target for the laser, so removing these isn’t as effective. Dark body hair like leg hair or armpit hair typically responds better.
Regrowth after treatment
Occasionally, some people also experience hair regrowth in the areas where they’ve had laser treatments done. This issue can be resolved during a couple of touch-up appointments, and isn’t a cause for concern. Everyone is different, but most people who need touch ups end up coming in once a year or every 6 months. Many people don’t need touch ups at all!
Overall, laser hair removal is effective for certain candidates. Hair type and color as well as the color contrast between hair and skin color are big factors that inform how effective laser hair removal will be.
The best way to find out if you’re a good candidate for effective laser hair removal is scheduling a free consultation!
Everyone’s hair removal journey is different, so it’s important to get a professional’s opinion. Schedule your free consultation now!
Are you in the Columbia, MO area looking for laser hair removal? We’re here to answer your questions. Give us a call at (573) 256-5955 to set up a consultation.

domain: beauty


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Updated: Mar 24, 2021
F.E.A.R - False Evidence Appearing Real.
Fear has 2 meanings: Forget Everything and Run or Face Everything and Rise.
I personally believe that fear is a negative force that manipulates us (if we allow it) to believe the worst of everything. I also believe that people are either driven by fear or faith. Fear holds us back and faith propels us forward.
It all starts with a decision - Do we want to continue to live in fear and be controlled by its force or are we willing to make the effort to rewire our brain to release the hold fear has on us and live a life of freedom? I think we all agree that life is full of uncertainty as we, as we are not in control of outside forces. However, once we realise that we truly do have control over how our lives turn out, we can choice to not let ourselves get into a state of fear.
When we keep thinking of the things to be fearful of, we attract more of them due to the law of attraction, and in that way we sink deeper into a fearful state which taints every part of our life.
How does fear get a grip of our minds?
When we choose to hold on to the negative emotions that have developed within our sub-conscious from our thoughts and beliefs that we have adopted from our past and from our environment, it creates a state of fear which keeps us locked in a prison.
How do we release fear’s iron grip on us?
It is ironic that one of the first steps in releasing control of your life may be gaining control of your thoughts. Once you are aware of the thoughts that make you fearful; you can begin to change them on a sub-conscious level.
If we desire to release fear from our minds and live in a peaceful and powerful state no matter what is going on around us, then we need to rewire our sub-conscious mind. The TLC program very successfully does this with a technique of ‘Letting go of fear” in our sub-conscious, and in its place it installs a state of inner peace.
I felt totally liberated after doing the technique. Previously I had suffered from the fear of being abandoned, rejected because of the tragic deaths of my parents at a young age. I lived in a constant state of fear which had dire consequences on my health and the choices I made. After I released the hold of fear in my sub-conscious mind, I experienced the transforming power of restoration, healing and freedom. Now, when fearful thoughts try to drag me back into that pit of gloom and doom; I have learnt the necessary skills to counteract them and instead to choose to maintain a state of inner peace.
“Love is what we are born with. Fear is what we have learned here. The spiritual journey is the unlearning of fear and the acceptance of love back into our hearts." - Marianne Williamson

domain: psychology


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The New York Times recently highlighted a lawsuit filed by the American Immigration Council and...
The IPC's Guillermo Cantor Interviewed on CNN
Published on Mon, Sep 09, 2013
The IPC's Senior Policy Analyst, Guillermo Cantor, was interviewed on CNN Spanish regarding immigration reform and the IPC's recently released Special Report, "Stepping Up: The Impact of the Newest Immigrant, Latino, and Asian Voters," which explains the effect those groups will have on future elections in the United States. Watch it here:
Published in the CNN | Read Article

domain: sociology


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CALL FOR PRICE AND AVAILABILITY
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JK1517 NEC image
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These interlaced Yagi antennas give the best performance at par with any 3-element monoband Yagi antenna in its class on 17 m and 4-element monoband Yagi antenna on 15 m.
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JK1517 - Yagi antenna of 2 elements for the 17 m band and 4 elements for 15 m band
- Brand: JK Antennas
- Product Code: JK1517
- Availability: Call for availability

domain: physics


NTSB Finds Engine Damage, Feather
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Federal accident investigators said they had found what appeared to be organic material in an engine of a downed US Airways jet, as well as a feather and other physical evidence that corroborated the crew's accounts of a collision with birds shortly after takeoff from New York's La Guardia Airport.
The National Safety Transportation Safety Board yesterday said an external examination of the plane's right engine revealed evidence of "soft body impact" damage on fan blades. The agency said its review showed that internal engine parts were either significantly damaged or missing.
Additionally, the NTSB reported that it had located the left engine in about 50 feet of water near the area of the Hudson River where the plane was ditched. Investigators have been hunting for the missing engine since Friday, a day after the accident. All 155 passengers and crew members aboard survived.
John Cox, a former US Airways pilot and former safety investigator for the Air Line Pilots Association, said results of the engine probe so far were consistent with a bird striking the engine fan, damaging metal pieces that then broke loose. The pieces were pulled deeper inside the engine, causing further damage, he said.
The NTSB said the organic material was found inside the engine, on the plane's wings and on other parts of the plane. Additionally, investigators found a single feather attached to a part known as a flap track of one of the plane's wings.
Samples of the material have been sent to the U.S. Department of Agriculture for DNA analysis, the NTSB said. The feather will go to bird identification experts at the Smithsonian Institution.
The NTSB has said that pilot Chesley B. "Sully" Sullenberger III told investigators that the plane struck a flock of birds, causing the engines to lose power.
In addition, the agency said it had begun investigating the right engine's maintenance records after learning that it surged during a Jan. 13 flight.


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We spoke with a few local wedding photographers to get the scoop on current trends and make the most of your photography budget. Since the photos (and associated memories they recall) last long after the actual wedding day, it’s important to find the right photographer for your needs. Here’s what you need to know.
Catherine Guidry Photography
When Catherine Guidry was studying to be an architect, she found an interest in photography when she was given an assignment to photograph buildings and objects. It wasn’t until she started photographing people however, that she really found her passion. She shot her first wedding in 2008. “I knew I had found my artistic love and would spend the rest of my life dedicated to making images that can become legacies,” she says.
Since then, Guidry has photographed more than 500 weddings, been featured in publications nationwide and traveled throughout the country photographing weddings. Moving forward, she plans to accept a limited number of clients, averaging about 25 weddings per year.
Guidry, who photographs in tandem with her husband, Brad, says that her photography style is traditionally romantic, timeless and emotional with a modern twist. “We approach photography from both an aesthetic and experiential point of view,” she says. “We create images they will love for a lifetime, telling the true and authentic story of who they are as people. In addition, we make an experience that feels real to the day, pulling them as little as possible for posed photos. Wedding photography for us is a song and dance between making the best images and the best experience. Because I am a hybrid photographer (using both digital and film mediums on a wedding day) my goal is to have all of the images feel the same, resulting in a bright, airy and film-like finish.”
When a couple is looking to hire a photographer, Guidry encourages them to first choose an aesthetic they love and then pick the person or team they connect with who can create those images consistently. She also suggests that couples request a full wedding album to review, have a final meeting with their photographer one to two weeks prior to the wedding day to discuss the overall timeline and photo requests, and then to simply let go so that the photographer can capture authentic moments.
The most recent trend in wedding photography that Guidry has noticed is that brides and grooms are focusing more on the guest experience, intimate moments and elevated aesthetics. “Wedding sizes have gone down as there have been more concerns for travel and sharing physical space,” she says. “As a result, those who are in attendance have been the friends and family closest to the client. Weddings feel very meaningful in these settings and have allowed the couple to do things like host sit-down dinners, share toasts on the wedding day, and present lovely favors and experiences. Budgets are being stretched to accommodate less people, which means more luxury and intimate experiences for the ones who are there.” catherineguidry.com
Maile Lani Photography
Maile Lani first began photographing weddings purely by accident. After accepting a job to photograph a couple’s Renaissance wedding, she decided it was the career she wanted to pursue. That was in 2009, and, since then, she has shot hundreds of weddings. While she used to shoot 40 to 50 per year, she now limits her work to 10 to 15 weddings per year.
Lani mainly shoots with Nikon cameras, but she also sometimes uses antique film, a Polaroid and toy cameras. “I have an assistant with me at every wedding that helps me with my equipment, and, if it is a larger wedding, then I’ll have a second photographer as well,” she says.
In terms of trends, Lani has found that many couples now simply want to spend time with their friends and loved ones. “Weddings are becoming more like fun parties instead of scripted events,” she says. “I’ve also noticed a lot more house plants styled into decor.”
Lani considers her photographic style to be along the lines of romantic journalism. “I want each wedding album to be a genuine representation of the couple’s actual wedding day,” she says. “It’s important to document things in a way that evokes feelings of nostalgia and warmth when my couples go back through their photographs.”
She suggests that couples always hire a wedding coordinator so they aren’t having to worry about details on the Big Day. “Also do a hair and makeup trial before the wedding, and don’t be afraid to tell the stylist what you want changed,” she says. “You want to make sure that you feel like yourself on your wedding day, because that’s how you’ll feel the most confident and look the most happy in photos.” mailelaniphotography.com
Gris Gris Photography
Traven Stout first began taking photographs as a child after watching his mom document the world around her, and he always knew he wanted to do the same. He shot his first wedding in 2013 for a friend, and he became a professional wedding photographer in 2015. Since then, he has shot nearly 150 weddings; he typically books about 20 per year.
Stout, who describes his photographic style as “candid/documentary,” employs an assistant to help with lighting gear or a second photographer for double coverage. “My clients are typically looking for someone who specializes in candid photography, someone who is laid back and chill,” he says. “My clients typically don’t like to do all of the traditional stuff, which is cool with me. I’m happy to go with the flow and just document the day.”
In terms of trends, echoes that couples are having smaller weddings, while splitting up the wedding ceremony and reception. “Folks opting out of the big wedding for safety concerns,” he says.
His best advice for couples on their wedding day is to simply enjoy the moment. “Don’t get caught up in the things that aren’t important,” he says. “Weddings are about two people coming together and making vows to spend the rest of their lives together, celebrating that with all of their loved ones, and all of the human complexities that mesh together within these circumstances. I’ve noticed that [couples] who focus more on this, tend to enjoy themselves a little better than the [those] who focus on the little things. Your wedding can still be amazing if you let it be.” grisgrisphotography.com

domain: photo


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The untold story of the Harvard class of ’63, whose Black students fought to create their own identities on the cusp between integration and affirmative action.
In the fall of 1959, Harvard recruited an unprecedented eighteen “Negro” boys as an early form of affirmative action. Four years later they would graduate as African Americans. Some fifty years later, one of these trailblazing Harvard grads, Kent Garrett, would begin to reconnect with his classmates and explore their vastly different backgrounds, lives, and what their time at Harvard meant.
Garrett and his partner Jeanne Ellsworth recount how these eighteen youths broke new ground, with ramifications that extended far past the iconic Yard. By the time they were seniors, they would have demonstrated against national injustice and grappled with the racism of academia, had dinner with Malcolm X and fought alongside their African national classmates for the right to form a Black students’ organization.
Part memoir, part group portrait, and part narrative history of the intersection between the civil rights movement and higher education, this is the remarkable story of brilliant, singular boys whose identities were changed at and by Harvard, and who, in turn, changed Harvard.
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About the Author
JEANNE ELLSWORTH has a PhD in social foundations of education from the University of Buffalo, and has devoted her life to teaching, from elementary school to prisons to university.
Garrett and Ellsworth live in Roxbury, New York.
KENT GARRETT was born in the Fort Greene Projects in Brooklyn, New York. He excelled in the New York City Public Schools and went on to Harvard College in 1959. He was one of the producers of the ground-breaking public TV program Black Journal and went on to a long career with CBS and NBC News. In 1997, he left the rat race and became an organic dairy farmer in upstate New York.
JEANNE ELLSWORTH grew up in northwest New Jersey and taught elementary school there for ten years. After returning to school to get a doctorate, she was a teacher educator in the State University of New York system for over twenty years. Since 2007, she has lived in the Catskill Mountains with her partner, Kent Garrett.
Read an Excerpt
Arrival Day, September 18, 1959. The new boys trudge along with their suitcases; attentive fathers carry trunks, mothers in flats and autumn coats tote desk lamps and portable typewriters, and kids trot along carting bags and boxes or just kicking through the first of the fall leaves. Harvard Yard is a verdant quadrangle of well-tended but simple elegance, boxed in by fine old American buildings, sequestered behind sturdy ivied brick walls and wrought-iron fences of fine design. Even on a busy day like this, the Yard is serene, as if over three hundred years of arrivals have inured it to any disturbance. Proud parents walk confidently into the epicenter of the American aristocracy, in the footsteps of some of the most illustrious feet in American history. Half of this year’s boys have gone to private schools, and they watch out for familiar faces, letter sweaters, or school ties. For the many fathers who are Harvard alums, this is a ritual and a homecoming: they greet old classmates with backslaps and inside jokes. Other fathers tip their hats, secure in the knowledge that as of this day, through their sons, they have joined one of the most elite clubs in the world. Mothers exchange the polite smiles of privileged sisterhood.
Just after one o’clock that afternoon, another family comes across the Yard. Heads turn, eyes widen, a mother whispers behind her hand, a father shushes a child. Now treading on the Puritan soil and patrician pathways of Harvard Yard are eight dark-skinned, Sunday-best Negroes, one of them a tall thin boy carrying a suitcase. That boy is me, and this is the Garrett party; this is my family, my very Negro family, stepping onto the very white, very Old New England, very exclusive grass and gravel of Harvard Yard. We know we are being looked at. We stick closer together, say less, and walk more stiffly than the other families, maintaining what we hope looks at least like composure, if not aplomb. Aside from my fourteen-year-old sister and me—who were born in Brooklyn—the others in our party, my parents and aunts and uncle, were all born and grew up on sharecropper farms in Edgefield, South Carolina. They lived more than half of their lives in the rural Jim Crow Deep South. They were just two decades distant from driving mules and picking cotton, from the indignities of segregated schools, parks, buses, and water fountains, from violence and hatred, degradation and fear. They had clear memories of having stuffed Cousin Emery into the trunk of a car to escape the Ku Klux Klan. Considering their beginnings, their struggles, and the history of Harvard and of the United States, my family’s arrival in Harvard Yard that cool early fall day in 1959 was one of incalculable dimension.
The wide lawns of Harvard Yard say to the privileged few who have been chosen, You belong here, you are important, you are granted a generous share of space and time in this world, while my family and just about everyone I had spent time with in my seventeen years on earth had been told, You don’t belong here, you’re not very important, and what little you are granted we will begrudge you. The trees of Harvard Yard rise confidently into a leafy canopy that keeps both the sun and the outside world from beating down too harshly on its chosen, while my family and our forebears slaved under the sun and the whip for more than three hundred years as generations of trees grew and died in the Yard and new ones were planted. Thousands of white Harvard boys and men had sat under the trees smoking, chatting in clusters with their hands in their pockets, considering the questions of the ages and dreaming the big dreams, or they had horsed around, singing drunkenly, considering the questions of the moment and dreaming the little dreams, while my family and our brothers and sisters in blackness had walked mean streets and dark country roads, trying to dream any kind of dream at all.
But I wasn’t thinking about those incongruities on that day in September 1959. I was seventeen, awkwardly and tentatively confident. I hadn’t thought much about Harvard at all, in fact, except that it was a good school and famous. The only connection I had to the place was a distant cousin of my mother, Ida Thomas, who worked in one of the kitchens. Had I wondered how many Blacks would be here? I don’t think so. For that matter, had any of the white boys who were arriving that day thought about having Black classmates, or even roommates? Not likely. But here we were all together, and some of those white boys and their families no doubt were shocked to see me.


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New housing/office - Hamburg, 2014
ELBDECK HAMBURG is one of the last “pearls” of the so-called pearl chain along the river Elbe. From the Elbphilharmonie up to Oevelgönne stretches the area of former harbor use.
Numerous new buildings as well as renovated historic buildings characterize this urban harbor edge today. Above all, of offices and restaurants, as well as shops have settled. Building here is expensive because the low-lying area in the flood zone of the Elbe requires extensive flow protection measures.
The ensemble ELBDECK stands on a common, about 200 m long pedestal, which serves as a flood protection polder and is extended to an underground car-park with around 280 spaces. Together with the west and east polders of the neighboring new buildings, the ELBDECK is part of the inner city dyke, which makes living and working here possible. The historic Kaispeicher D from 1930, that has been converted to an office building, is located in front of the dyke line and is connected to the safe high water level via the two pedestrian bridges (Design: Carsten Roth Architekt).
The design of the ELBDECK polder with the south-facing quayside and north to the green Elbhang facing free spaces, its oblique front sides and numerous seat steps seems like a mediterranean place.
The use of the ELBDECK is clearly visible in the design of the façades, while on the ground floor and on the first floor there are restaurant, shop and office areas, while the upper storeys offer space for 100 high-quality apartments. The three buildings – two with 6, one with 8 floors – are related and vary at the same time by repeating elements and shapes, designed similar but differently for each building. Their layout allows views from the hiking trails and greenways of the Elbhang through the Elbdeck to the Kaispeicher and the river Elbe and at the same it provides maximum privacy. The deliberately chosen bright red color of the brick creates a friendly contrast to the bright white plaster surfaces and always looks cheerful.

domain: geography


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The new product that Ser.mac launched at Fruit Logistica 2016 in Berlin is called Daytona Blueberry.
It is an electronic grader specially designed for blueberries that provides accurate non-invasive sorting based on colour, diameter and quality.
Daytona Blueberry has a versatile, low-impact feed-in and can be adapted to the different requirements of each client in terms of both workloads and speed. The new Agrovision technology ensures uniform selection to meet the quality standards the market demands.
Daytona Blueberry is about to be launched on different markets with a highly innovative electronic system developed in-house.
The UNICAL_200 Cherry © is one of the innovations Unitec was presenting at Fruit Logistica 2016 in Berlin.
This electronic grader is designed for small, delicate products, particularly cherries and cherry tomatoes. Its technology is very powerful and highly sensitive. The grader is equipped with Cherry_Vision 2 for non-destructive detection of the external and internal quality of the cherries.
This is a highly innovative, versatile system that can be adapted to the different needs of each client. Unitec designs and manufactures 100% of its solutions in-house, specifically for each individual type of fruit, such as apricots, apples, kiwifruit, plums, blueberries, peaches and pears, as well as for other products.
Unitec’s quality sorting and grading systems (colour, shape, ripeness, degrees Brix, acidity, internal and external defects, etc.) guarantee a high level of accuracy and precision in fruit quality sorting. For instance, they make it possible only to select fruit that will withstand long journeys. As a result, the fruit can be sent successfully even to the most demanding and distant (and also most profitable) destinations, such as the Asian markets.
Technology in service of quality: this is the great innovation that VI.P, the Association of Fruit and Vegetable Cooperatives of Val Venosta, presented at Fruit Logistica 2016 in Berlin.
“Last November,” said VI.P director Josef Wielander, “the GEOS cooperative commissioned a new, cutting-edge automatic warehouse, which will join the two others already in operation, MIVOR and TEXEL, and which will make it possible to optimise apple processing to the highest degree through complete automation of all processes, particularly passage through the calibration, treatment and packaging stages to ensure the high quality and freshness of the apples and allow more product categories to be managed simultaneously at a 5,000 ton capacity.”
Considerable volumes to back up a positive season
“The first months of sales,” said sales manager Fabio Zanesco, “have confirmed the anticipated results, with a good quality-price ratio. In fact, over recent days we have commenced sales of Pinova, which always garners more interest from Italian and European clients and consumers and which we expect to be available from the beginning of the season.”
VOG presented a great achievement at Fruit Logistica 2016: Envy.
Thanks to an agreement signed with New Zealand’s ENZA, the distributor and holder of the trademark rights, VOG is Italy’s exclusive producer of this apple, together with the second project partner in Alto Adige, the VI.P. Consortium.
The presentation at Fruit Logistica heralds a significant increase in production. “We have marketed the first significant Envy harvest,” said consortium director, Gerhard Dichgans, “and it has been a great success. The total volume was 600 tons, of which 300 were produced by us: 70% were positioned on the Italian wholesale market and the rest in Spain, with fantastic returns: a meaningful result, as we have never received such a unanimous response from wholesalers with any other variety.”
Planasa at Fruit Logistica 2016: Hall 18, Stand A08
Developed and registered by Planasa, the Adelita variety has become raspberry of the moment in Andalusia’s fields as well as worldwide.
The large, attractive fruit immediately stands out, and its great flavour has the perfect balance between acidity and sweetness. Moreover, this variety has a long commercial shelf life.
Adelita is the only “Primocaña” variety raspberry that enables growers to produce fruit throughout the winter in sunny climes such as Huelva or central Mexico, as well as in summer in the cooler northern European countries. Additionally, it should be noted that it is very easy to manage, as it provides high yields and is easy to harvest.
All these qualities make Adelita the favourite for consumers seeking superior quality 365 days a year. Currently, over 2,000 ha of Adelita are cultivated worldwide. For all these reasons, Planasa will be attending Fruit Logistica 2016 with a stand that is 100% Adelita.
“In just four years, Adelita as reach the top, a success that we want to share with our partners and customers,” said Alessandre Darbonne.
MERIS, the new green kiwifruit variety, is raising great expectations. Now due for launching in 2016, the first 50,000 plants of this excellent product will soon be marketed in Europe, undoubtedly with great success.
This varietal innovation was discovered in Verona in 2012. The result of a mutation of Hayward, while retaining the elongated shape typical of the variety, it is distinguished by having dry matter one point higher and a harvest period that begins 10 days sooner. The fruit is less acidic and has better dry matter content. Thanks to this combination of factors, MERIS has the best taste qualities around. It also resembles the Hayward in its high productivity and good resistance to cold storage.
Trials are already underway with experimental implants, with marketing of the first MERIS fruits scheduled for 2018.
This excellent fruit, whose harvest begins in mid-October, will be revealed at the Fruit Logistica trade fair in Berlin at the SUMMERFRUIT stand, Hall 4.2 – C 05.
During the 2015 harvest, the Italian consortium La Trentina registered a 10% increase in tonnage compared to 2014. “As of today, the results show that we’re heading in the right direction” said the general director, Simone Pilati. Not to mention that such positive results have taken place against a negative European background with a general decrease of 5%.
This outcome makes La Trentina very proud, as does the professionalism and experience of its associates and the particularly suitable soil where they operate in Trentino Alto Adige, in the north of Italy, which allows them to guarantee an excellent quality standard.
“Once again, the apples of La Trentina are top for quality: flavour, size and good colour” said Pilati. Future prospects entail applying the group´s strategy once again to diversifying the distribution channels, leveraging the wide range of action of the Consortium: 50% of production will be concentrated on the Italian market, while the remaining half will be earmarked for foreign countries such as Spain, North Africa or the Middle East, destinations that have become increasingly important from a strategic point of view.
La Trentina is now ready for the 13th Fruit Logistica. “The Berlin fair is an unmissable event for us,” said Simone Pilati, who underlined the international vocation of the Consortium. The event will be a strategic occasion to meet both new and well-established partners from over 40 foreign destinations where the group exports its fruits, and also to decide part of the annual commercial plan.
The Consortium awaits sector operators at the fair so they can get to know its wide variety of products: Golden Delicious, Gala, Red Delicious, Grany Smith, Morgenduft and Fuji.
Consorzio La Trentina at Fruit Logistica 2016: Hall 2.2 – Stand D-02

domain: agronomy


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Hackers, the 1995 cyber-thriller about young computer hackers trying to escape a frame job by a big corporate security consultant (and an unwitting Secret Service agent), has just been released on Blu-ray with an elaborately-produced 20th anniversary edition.
This is yet another movie that flopped in theaters before finding a rabidly devoted fan base on home video. It's notable for giving Angelina Jolie her first big movie role and she later (briefly) married costar Johnny Lee Miller, who's recently had his career take off after playing the role of Sherlock Holmes on CBS' series Elementary.
The 20th anniversary bonus material includes extensive interviews with director Iain Softley and actors Matthew Lillard, Penn Jillette and Fisher Stevens (who has an excellent role as the corporate bad guy). Visual effects artist Peter Chiang goes into elaborate detail about how they created visual effects in an era before extensive CGI was possible and how they tried to make the act of hammering at a keyboard visually compelling.
Most interesting of all, though, are the interviews with the movie's hacking consultants Emmanuel Goldstein and Nicholas Jarecki. Goldstein founded and edited the legendary hacking fanzine 2600 and led hacker meetings in NYC during the era (and took his pen name from the opposition leader in George Orwell's 1984). Jarecki was a 15-year-old hacker who inspired the youngest hacker character in the movie and grew up to be the film director who made the excellent Richard Gere movie Arbitrage. Goldstein and Jarecki are adamant that the movie captures the hacker culture of the era better than any other and does a pretty good job of portraying the cyberpunk music and fashion of the mid-90s as well.
It's only 20 years ago, but going online meant dialing up with a slow-speed modem. Entire corporations were run off rooms full of mainframe computers that were less powerful than the phone in your pocket. Security was weak and social engineering might have been the most important tool in a hacker's kit. It's not hard to imagine Edward Snowden wearing out a VHS copy while growing up in Maryland.
Anyone who makes their living staring at a screen should get a kick out of this. There's an excellent techno soundtrack featuring Orbital, Massive Attack, Prodigy and Leftfield and 20-year-old Angelina manages to look incredibly attractive in spite of a weird Vulcan haircut.

domain: movie


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The face of modern social problems has changed, and old stereotypes aren’t holding up. Homelessness, for example, no longer looks like it did a decade or two ago. Service providers at Miracle Hill, a leading agency offering help to homeless people in South Carolina, reported their homeless population has grown well beyond the traditional image of the middle-aged male. Today’s homeless people include more families, women, children, senior adults, and people with mental illnesses. Social workers who treat their clients based on generalizations will find their work stymied.
In the face of changing social, economic, and demographic landscapes, how will the field of social work evolve to meet these new needs, and how will it maximize creative opportunities? Many leaders in the field believe the answers to those questions lie in a person-centered approach in social work.
What Is A Person-Centered Approach in Social Work?
Person-centered care is not unique to social work; several occupations benefit from this practice, including nurses, physical therapists, and speech and language pathologists, among many others. Like those professions, social workers can reframe their occupation in person-centered terms to meet the unique needs of their individual clients.
An article published in the Journal of Gerontological Social Work called person-centered care the “benchmark” for quality care, particularly in marginalized populations such as older adults. It merges traditional social work practices with a renewed focus on personhood, using the relationship between the care provider and the recipient as the determining factor in making recommendations for aid. Taking a person-centered planning approach literally might mean asking, “If I were the patient, what would I want my care, planning, or environment to be?” and then developing a care plan from that orientation. This approach differs from the longstanding idea in social work that what works for one person in a typical situation could be standardized as an approach for all people facing similar situations.
Many of the ideas within person-centered social work emerged from Carl Rogers, a psychotherapist who authored the book “Becoming a Person.” Rogers’ research and its applications focused on helping his patients become their authentic selves rather than a reflection of their society. Social workers applied Rogers’ theories and insights to their work and began to emphasize helping clients develop as individuals rather than as reflections of their social subset. This new approach relies on a social worker’s highly developed sense of empathy since person-centered care emerges from the worker’s ability to put themselves in the other’s place.
Examples of Person-Centered Care
Examples of a person-centered approach to social work vary depending upon the type of client served.
- Mrs. Webb is a 74-year-old with mild dementia who lives with her son and maintains her own room and bathroom. She is still able to perform many tasks with minor assistance, such as cooking and personal care. Taking a person-centered approach, a social worker would likely recommend home healthcare for Mrs. Webb and plan to reassess her program and assistance needs as the disease progresses.
- Mr. Watson is a 69-year-old man who suffered a massive stroke two years ago and lives in a personal care facility. He is a religious man, so a social worker would take a person-centered approach by respecting his right to spiritual development, including participation in worship services.
- Mr. Shoemaker is a 52-year-old man who lives with his dog in a car. He recently accepted a job as a dishwasher but cannot save enough money to make first and last month’s payments to a landlord. A person-centered social worker may help him connect with a housing-first provider to move him from his car into an appropriate housing situation that would accept his dog, too.
BENEFITS FOR THE PROVIDER
- Improves clinical outcomes. According to a study published in the Chinese Journal of Nursing, a person-centered approach improves clinical outcomes for a variety of illnesses, probably due to the clients being more involved in their medical treatment.
- Increases staff morale. Social workers tend to feel less exhausted and more accomplished when they perceive themselves as helping a client achieve a personal goal.
- Creates a partnership between worker and client. By focusing on the person, this approach makes clients and social workers partners in improving the client’s situation rather than establishing the power dynamic of a traditional relationship.
BENEFITS FOR THE CLIENT
- Focus on unique interests and preferences. Clients will nearly always appreciate a plan that includes their interests in art, gardening, cooking, spirituality, reading, or another hobby.
- Improved treatment or life care plan. By involving the client, the worker can identify the treatments or life care approaches that would work best for the individual.
As noted in The Benefits and Barriers to Person-Centered Planning for Adults with Developmental Disabilities, “The concept of Person-Centered Planning (PCP) values autonomy, respect, relationships, inclusion, quality of life, and self-determination for people.” Based on these values, a person-centered approach to social work benefits both the worker and the client.


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I like to use the term “investment” rather than “pricing”. Why? I truly believe that you are making an investment when you decide to hire me. The value of your family portraits and wedding photographs will increase tremendously as the years pass. To me, that’s a pretty big deal and something I take very seriously.
Wedding Collections start at $1400 for 6 hours of coverage, $1800 for 8 hours, and $2100 for 10 hours, and include one photographer, a complimentary engagement session (within the Durham Region), professionally-retouched, high-resolution digital files in a private online gallery.
Personal Portrait Photography
(family, children, maternity, lifestyle newborn)
Portrait Commission is $275 for a 60-minute session, and includes all high-resolution images from your session, professionally hand-retouched, provided in a private online gallery.
Please contact me for further information. I would love to chat with you about what I have to offer, and to find out more about you and what you are looking for.
Call or text: (905) 439-6439


With the economy in such a turmoil, everyone is scrambling to lower utility bills. Utility bills represent a large portion of a monthly budget. Simple changes can result in big money savings and energy savings.
One of the first steps you should take to reduce your utility bills is to have a household energy audit done. An inspection of your entire home can identify areas where energy is being wasted. Knowing what type of changes that can be made, can result in significant savings in the future.
Have an Insulation Audit Performed
One of the biggest areas where energy is wasted is in home insulation. Older homes especially lack proper wall and attic insulation.
Auditing your insulation requires evaluating several factors that are unique to your household, that contribute to that homes energy use. Seeing as how much money you can waste with a poorly insulated home, it would be worth your time to find an expert in this area to do the audit. Most communities have general home service companies in the area that can perform this task.
Homes in cold areas require different types of insulation than homes in warmer climates. Having the proper insulation will result in lower heating and cooling costs. Professionals will be able to determine the proper type and amount of insulation you require.
Seal Leaky Doors and Windows
Doors and windows are often areas where there is a large amount of energy leakage. Replacement of leaky, inefficient windows may be expensive, but long term savings can be significant.
Your heating and cooling systems will operate much more efficiently if all the leaks in the doors and windows are sealed properly.
Checking for leaks can be done by simply feeling the temperature outside the doors and windows, or you can hire a professional to do a thorough check. Crawl spaces and basements also need to be checked for energy leakage.
Attics Need Proper Insulation
Attics play a huge roll in your heating and cooling bills. Inadequate ventilation and improper insulation can result in higher bills.
Always check to be sure there are no holes in the ceilings that could cause air leakage from the interior of the home into the attic. Sealing any holes will reduce your energy consumption significantly.
Hiring a professional to check your attic insulation is a good investment. They will be able to tell you whether fiberglass or foam is a better choice to increase the R factor in your home.
Energy Loss From a Fireplace
In recent years, fireplaces have become common in modern homes, especially in the northern climates. The problem with a fireplace is that they allow a large amount of heat loss when not in use. If not sealed properly, heating and air conditioning energy escapes through the chimney.
The flue must be properly closed when the fireplace is not in use, so the heating and air conditioning cannot escape.
Know What Insulation Your Home Needs
Adding insulation to your home can be a do-it-yourself project. Simple jobs can be performed by most homeowners. Home improvement centers have all the supplies and equipment necessary to perform many of these jobs. More complex jobs such as adding insulation to an attic can be a do-it-yourself job, but it is often left up to the professionals.
Every year that you delay an audit, costs you money. The savings you realize will quickly offset any expense you incurred to properly insulate your home. In addition, an audit will often uncover problems you didn’t even know existed. An insulation audit should be a priority, and should be performed on a regular basis.
Properly insulating your home is a wise decision. Not only do you save money, but you are also helping out the environment at the same time.


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You can download yoga routine for runners in your computer by clicking resolution image in Download by size:. Don't forget to rate and comment if you interest with this wallpaper.
10-minute guided stretching routine for runners (or anyone with tight hips!). stretch out your it band with yoga runners knee stretchesrunners . are you a runner? have you tried practicing yoga but don\u0027t know where. more: how to add yoga to your running routine. 5 yoga poses runners should be doing (but probably aren\u0027t) | sublimely fit. yoga-for-runners. my stretching routine for long runs (warm-up \u0026 cool-down.


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Having dreams and expectations is not enough to achieve success, Ruble Chandly tells us in this article: you need to be motivated to reach the top. As in life, to achieve professional success you have to overcome obstacles and not give up. Motivation is the best tool to start, walk the path and reach the final goal. It is best to motivate yourself, without looking for motivation elsewhere.
Secrets to be motivated:
– Determine your goals:
You have to ask yourself what your goals are. What will lead you to success? Knowing your goals will help you be motivated and achieve them easily.
– Keep a positive attitude:
Be positive. It will help you to be motivated / or towards your goals: having a positive attitude will allow you to deal with difficult situations and will increase your productivity. You can also cheer up your friends thanks to your enthusiasm.
– Give up personal problems and focus on work.
Don’t take problems to work: keep a line between professional and personal. This will help you stay focused and motivated and deal better with day-to-day situations in the office. Also, worrying about your personal problems in the office will not help you solve them, it will only distract you and your colleagues. You must keep problems at bay and focus on work.
– Update your knowledge and skills:
To take advantage of others, you need to improve your skills and knowledge. All this will help you to be more sure of yourself and will help you to carry out your task better. This is a good motivational factor.
– Be passionate:
Life without passion is useless and working without passion is much more boring. Being passionate at work will give you a more positive professional life. If you love your work, you will enjoy it; And when you enjoy it, you tend to work better. So make passion your motivation to be a good worker.
– Save energy:
Surround yourself with positive people. Negativity will only give your life more trouble. Having people around you who motivate you every time you feel insecure will help you avoid negative energy. You have to put aside people who fail or devalue you.
– Talk to yourself:
Do you know that the people who trust you the most are “yourself” or “yourself”? Talking to yourself is like massaging your conscience, which acts as a great ladder to achieve success in your life. For example, say “I can do it” more often than “I can’t do it.
– Face your fears and challenges:
You cannot prosper without facing your fears. You may encounter many obstacles, but if you get up after each fall and stay focused, you will be victorious.
Practicing meditation is like staying with your soul, talking to your interior and balancing your life. Meditating will prepare you for a new day of challenges in your profession, in addition to rejuvenating yourself.
– Recognize your successes:
You will get better results when they are recognized after hard work. You must accept the recognitions or prizes awarded to you to stay motivated.
To finish, putting these tips into practice will help you stay motivated and achieve your goals, not only in the workplace, but in any situation in life.


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momiji doll - randoms - 2008 clever clogs
Once upon a time there was a clever clogs and her name was you. I like boys who wear glasses.
Momiji are handpainted resin message dolls. Turn them upside down...inside every one there's a tiny folded card for your own secret message.
Spread the love.
All dolls are approx 8cm (3in) tall.

domain: artistic


Component #2: The software monitoring program
The second piece of the self-healing architecture is to have a program that monitors your worker programs. You can write your own software monitoring program, as I did many years ago, but that's pretty old-school, and frankly, not a good idea any more.
These days there is an open source project named Nagios that does everything my old monitoring application did, and much more. In short, Nagios can monitor your applications, servers, and network. And it provides a user interface to show the current status of every component it monitors, a notification component to notify the right people when something goes wrong, and even a scheduler so you can deal with scheduled downtime and holidays.
Here's a screenshot of one of the many Nagios monitoring screens available in their user interface (courtesy of nagios.org):
So, in regards to a monitoring program, my recommendation here is easy: download, install, and learn how to use Nagios to monitor your worker programs, and your entire network.
Note: I keep saying "network" because some times it appears that your worker programs have failed, but what has really happened is that a network resource has failed, i.e., a database server, a file server, a router, or something else. The failure of any network component that supports your worker can make it look like your program failed, when in fact it was something else. And believe me, nothing is more powerful to support your claims than having a Project Sponsor look at a Nagios screen, and see that a supporting component has failed. Very quickly they realize what's really going on.
Monitoring your application with a Nagios agent
Beyond doing all these wonderful things, Nagios also supports a very simple interface that feeds directly into my monitoring plans. I'll write about this more in a future tutorial, but in short, it's very easy to write a Nagios agent that (a) knows how to talk to your worker, and (b) can be plugged into Nagios. In fact, you can write an agent in many different languages, including very simple shell scripts.
The only thing your Nagios agent really has to do is:
- Know how to call your worker application's
- Get the return information from the
- Provide one of the following return codes to Nagios:
- '0' - everything is okay.
- '1' - warning; the service was checked, but the information it returned indicated it was at or above a warning threshold.
- '2' - critical; the plugin detected that either the service was not running or it was above some "critical" threshold.
- '3' - uknown; a major failure occurred trying to contact the worker program.
Again, I'll try to cover all of this in more detail in a future tutorial, as it's too long to write here, but to summarize the monitoring solution:
- Install Nagios.
- Write a very simple Nagios agent that knows how to call the
status()method of your worker program.
- Configure Nagios to use that agent to track the status of your worker.
In the next (and final) part of my self healing recipe, you can also configure Nagios to send a "repair" command to your worker program when it detects a failure.
(Or, if you prefer, you can go back to Part 1 of this series.)


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PokerStars’ U.S Facing Sites Achieve Massive Success With Half Price Sunday Promo
Poker players always love bargain and value and PokerStars delivered this past weekend when it reduced the buy-ins of its major Sunday games by 50 percent across all of its US markets.
On Sunday, July 18, PokerStars players in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Michigan were given the chance to play the Sunday Warm-Up, Sunday Special, and Sunday Supersonic for half their normal price as part of “Half Price Sunday”, and it yielded positive results for the online poker giant.
All three tournaments attracted huge turnouts for each of PokerStars’ US markets, which enabled them to surpass their guarantees by almost 16%. Overall, a total of 4,800 entries were recorded across NJ, PA, and MI, translating to more than $187,000 in total prizes awarded to winners. Players also benefited from nearly $550 in prize pool value for each dollar spent on buy-in.
Here’s how the NJ, PA, and MI markets fared during last weekend’s Half Price party.
New Jersey Records Highest Increase in Guarantees
Taking into account percentage over guarantee, PokerStars NJ fared better than its PA and MI counterparts. The NJ version of Sunday Warm-Up, Sunday Special, and Sunday Supersonic featured $26,500 in combined guarantees. All three tournaments ended up attracting a total of 628 entries to generate $36,384 in total prize pool – that’s equivalent to an increase of more than 37 percent from their initial guarantees.
Looking at the Prizes/Buy-in metric, PokerStars NJ sits at the bottom of the pack, with local players getting just $223.90 in final prizes per buy-in value. This comes mainly as a result of the market’s high total buy-ins of $162.50, compared to $90 in both PA and MI.
Decent Results in Michigan
In PokerStars Michigan, the Half Price Sunday results were generally positive as well. The three Sunday tournaments pulled in a total of 1,583 entries, creating a huge prize pool of $57,065, 18.8 percent higher than their combined original guarantees of $48,000. The best-performing tournament was Sunday Warm-Up, which managed to break its guarantee by nearly 35 percent.
Overall, MI players were able to get $634.05 in prizes per dollar paid in buy-in. PokerStars MI is in the middle based on all indicators.
Pennsylvania Players Enjoy Highest Prizes/Buy-in Value
Players at PokerStars PA enjoyed $1,048.44 in prizes per dollar paid in buy-ins, the highest among the three markets. The three Half Price Sunday games attracted 2,571 entries, generating a total prize pool of $94,360. They exceeded their targets by just 7.84%, lower than NJ and MI, but that’s still a favorable outcome.
The Sunday Warm-Up drew the most number of players in PA at 474, and awarded $6,500 in total prize money, an almost 30 percent jump in guarantees.
PokerStars PA’s Half Price Sunday Special generated the biggest prize pool as well as the highest prizes/buy-in value across all three states. The tournament awarded nearly $80,000 in prize money after attracting 1,755 entries.
PokerStars Battling Tough Competition
The success of PokerStars’ Half Price Sunday comes at a time when larger tournaments are running at major US rival site WSOP.com. The site is currently playing host to the domestic leg of the WSOP Online Bracelet Series which will conclude on August 1. At the same time, the operator is also running other huge events such as the Summer Online Championships.
The latest Half Price Sunday results are proof that PokerStars is still able to stay in the game and attract a major segment of the online poker market amid strong competition. The online poker giant refuses to be complacent especially with the latest developments in the world of online poker. As competition intensifies, PokerStars aims to maintain its global dominance.
PokerStars is currently trialing a new Rewards Program to attract more players across its global markets, while in the US, it continues to ramp up its efforts to keep its leading status especially in PA and MI where tough competition looms with the expansion of WSOP.com to both states.

domain: hobby