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I'm half French and half Italian, so that means I love food, I love wine, and I love food with wine! I'm passionate about my cultures and it reflects in my cooking style. I love dishes with complexity, richness, and unique character. I prefer cooking the old fashioned way, with less technology and more elbow grease, but being a Mommy of 2 little ones, I do have to sometimes bite the bullet and go with some shortcuts. But for the record, I'm stronglly against fake foods... Cool Whip, margarine, mixes, etc... because I love whole foods that are in their unadulterated state... like butter, fresh whipped cream, etc. The real stuff ALWAYS tastes better. Not to mention those substitutes are pretty close to being plastic.
My parents are both wonderful cooks. My father is a seasoning genius, and my mother makes everything taste delicious. They both instilled in me the love of food and the love of the art of food, and that every meal should be a celebrated occasion. To this day, I cherish every moment around the table. Food makes people happy, and it brings people together like nothing else can. Now at home with my darling husband, we love spending an evening preparing a delicious, homemade meal... it beats going out to any restaurant. You can taste the love in every bite.
The cake used as my icon picture... a beautiful mocha genoise, was made by my mother for her 25th Anniversary, and is probably at the top of my list for amazing desserts. It's like no other cake in this country... and here's why... It's a recipe from my grandmother's brother in France, who up until a few years ago, owned a pattisserie in a small village near the border of Switzerland. It had been in the family for generations.
I have traveled all over Europe and the United States, and also visited Morocco. Marrakesh is magical, France is inspiring, and I wish to go back one day. My travels have made me appreciate culture and the amazing diversity between peoples and their beloved foods.
I have truly become a Zaar (Food.com) addict and love searching out the highest rated recipes to share with family and friends. Doing this has helped me save money at the grocery store because I can plan out my meals for the week and make one trip instead of shopping everyday. I love crockpot meals not just for the simplicity, but slow cooking in my opinion brings out remarkable flavor and tenderness and allows ingredients to meld just so. Also, I love finding a recipe that is inspiring... I may not follow it completely, but I'm always open to new ideas and fresh new ways to prepare foods we love.
My rating system for recipes are as follows:
5 stars means it was FABULOUS and unique and I'll definitely be making it to impress my guests.
4 stars means it was great and I will be sure to make it again.
3 stars means it was good and served the purpose I needed but I may or may not make it again.
2 stars means I really didn't care for it and probably won't be making it again. It may not just be the taste, but other factors such as preparation involved and it's worth compared to the end result.
1 star means I really did not like this dish and will not make it again.
Thanks for your interest and I hope you enjoy my recipes!
I first saw this on Karen from Colorado's page... I love it!...
I didn't have potatoes, so I substituted rice.
I didn't have paprika, so I used another spice.
I didn't have tomato sauce, I used tomato paste;
A whole can, not a half can - I don't believe in waste.
A friend gave me the recipe; she said you couldn't beat it.
There must be something wrong with her, I couldn't even eat it!
Desserts! French pastries (eclairs!), cakes, pies. Anything with goat cheese, anything with sundried tomatoes, anything with artichoke hearts. Love fresh vegetables incorporated into a dish. Some meals just make you feel healthier... and happier!
My 2 favorite cookbooks are:
1. The Best Recipe Every recipe is tested over and over again with minor details changed to see the best result. Their creme brulee comes out PERFECT.
2. The Good Housekeeping Illustrated Cookbook I've been looking through this book since I was wearing the Mommy's Little Helper apron! It has fabulous classic recipes and beautiful pictures of EVERY finished dish.
3. The Moosewood Cookbook A classic vegetarian cookbook with handwritten pages and beautiful little drawings throughout... its just so inspiring and delightful. Love how all recipes bring out the natural purity of the foods worked with. The Minestrone recipe is a favorite (I know it by heart now)... and the Felafel is delicious and exotic!

domain: food


text:
As more homeowners seek to bring the indoors to the outdoors, fireplaces and fire pits are becoming an even hotter commodity — literally and figuratively.
Fire pits are one of the biggest trends in 2016 for homeowners wanting to upgrade their outdoor living spaces. In fact, landscape architects surveyed by the American Society of Landscape Architects identified fireplaces and fire pits as the number 1 outdoor design element for 2016.
Fire features such as fireplaces and fire pits “not only add ambiance to an outdoor space but also provide heat and light that allows you to use your deck later into the evening and into the year,” says design expert Kate Campbell, one of the stars of HGTV’s “Decked Out.”
Outdoor fireplaces and fire pits also make great focal points and gathering spots, Campbell says in a news release from Trex Co., which makes outdoor living products.
Related Link: Top 7 Eco-Friendly Amenities for Your Home
“Once upon a time, the living room fireplace was the favored gathering spot for family and guests, and roasting marshmallows over a campground fire was part of the annual family vacation. Modern outdoor living combines these two traditions into one with outdoor fireplaces and fire pits,” according to Belgard, a maker of outdoor living products.
The Hearth, Patio & Barbecue Association says linear fireplaces and smokeless fire pits are growing in popularity.
Homeowners are drawn to linear fireplaces because of their “sleek, modern design,” the patio association says. Gas-powered models, which are up to 12 feet wide, come equipped with glass that can tolerate high heat as well as with no-trim options for homebuilders and homeowners. Consumers also are attracted by the “sophisticated, contemporary style” of electric-powered models that feature realistic-looking multicolor flames, the association says.
Explaining the outdoor fireplace and fire-pit trend, home remodeling and design website Houzz says: “Not unlike water, the natural element of fire is simply a primal source of satisfaction.”
John Egan is editor in chief at LawnStarter, an Austin-based company that helps people find, schedule, pay for and manage lawn care services.

domain: design


text:
Piped Chocolate Goldfish Centrepiece - $24.95
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Chocolate Magnolia Cake - $24.95
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Halloween Pumpkins Cake - $34.95
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Learn to make a two tier cake with a couple of scary jack-o'-lantern pumpkins for Halloween. There's even a light inside just like a real jack-o'-lantern!
Introduction to Isomalt - $24.95
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In this tutorial, Serdar will give you a thorough introduction to everything Isomalt and how to get started with it.
3D Vintage Car Cake - $54.95
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Learn how to make a detailed 3D 1934 Packard vintage car cake.
3D Champagne Bottle Ice Bucket Cake - $29.95
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In this tutorial, you will learn how to make a cake that is a champagne bottle in an ice bucket. This tutorial covers a number of different tips & tricks to achieve realistic results as Yener discusses isomalt, edible printing and ornamental piping techniques.
3D Giraffe Cake - $34.95
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3D Diamond Ring Cake - $34.95
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Intertwined Initials Topper - $29.95
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Learn how to make a wedding cake topper using an elegant feminine letter for the bride which is intertwined around a bold masculine letter for the groom.
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Graduation Cake - $39.95
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Carousel Cake - $44.95
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Black and Gold Glam Cake - $34.95
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Learn a special technique to create fondant patterns on the surface of a cake.
Gingerbread House - $34.95
35.22K Views23 Comments45 Likes Reviews
Learn to make a beautiful snow covered Gingerbread House for Christmas!
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Chocolate Easter Bunny Centrepiece - $24.95
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Learn how to make this cool Easter rabbit sitting on a tropical island, all out of chocolate.
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3D Swordfish Cake - $24.95
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domain: hobby


Sandwell Council planners granted approval for the scheme to convert the former mosque and Pakistani Community Centre on Corbett Street into a new store.
Developers TS Global said it would be a multi-ethnic food store selling items that are not available in any of the many shops in the surrounding area.
But the proposal sparked strong opposition from nearby residents who handed in a petition bearing 89 names on it, arguing it wasn’t needed in the area near many other stores and would exacerbate issues such as parking, vermin and noise.
Rhonda Neil, who lives in Corbett Street, told a committee meeting on Tuesday (May 11) that the new store would make their lives a misery.
She said: “Residents who can’t park on Edgbaston Road and Claremont Road use our road to park. Workers in and around Cape Hill use it.
“I know there is a car park proposed for this change of use but a car coming in and out could cause a blockage and backlog down the road which already happens every day.
“The answer to that seems to be sit in your car and keep your hand on your horn until the blockage is removed, that means you’re sat in your house and that’s all you can hear.
“The residents are not happy. The extra noise is a nuisance, the pollution means we can’t open our front windows because it’s constant traffic.
“And we’ve got the added problem with vermin. Already you can see rats running daily across the road.
“(The supermarket) backs on to the park and where the council have put a vanity fence up – which is all I can call it – that has created a rat run because nobody ever bothers to go and clean it up. Rubbish is dumped there.
“It’s going to cause more havoc for residents and I don’t understand it. Is business taking precedence over the local people which it seems to be? Our wants and needs have been ignored.
“If it was something that was needed there wouldn’t be objections. But another shop across the road from Asda and Home Bargains, why would we need another one which will cause misery for residents?”
Councillors said they sympathised with the residents but said the supermarket would have less activity then the previous use and operate at reduced times of 8am to 8pm.
The application, which was backed by planning officers, was approved.


text:
Treatment of diabetes (Proceedings)
There are many different types of insulin that vary with species of origin and with chemical modifications and formulations that affect onset and duration of action. Porcine insulin, which is identical to canine insulin in its amino acid structure, is available for use in dogs in some countries, but, unfortunately, no specific feline insulin formulation is currently available. Human, bovine, or porcine insulins are used in treating both diabetic cats and dogs. Data concerning the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of insulin in dogs and cats are difficult to interpret. Most published studies have been conducted in normal animals, and some have been done in animals with diabetes. In either case, it is difficult to determine the effects of endogenous vs. exogenous insulin. Determinations of potency, time to peak activity and duration of activity, factors that influence choice of doses and dosing intervals, vary widely from animal to animal. In fact, there is no reasonable way to predict the kinetics of an given insulin preparation in any given patient.
Neutral protamine Hagedorn (NPH) insulin (Humulin-N®), porcine lente insulin (Vetsulin®), and protamine zinc insulin (ProZinc®, PZI) have been used commonly to treat diabetes mellitus in cats. In recent years, insulin glargine (Lantus®) has become probably the most commonly used insulin preparation in cats, despite relatively little published evidence supporting its use. Recently, another insulin analog, insulin detemir (Levemir®), has received some attention among veterinary researchers and feline practitioners.
In dogs, porcine lente insulin and NPH are used most commonly.NPH and lente
NPH is considered an intermediate-acting insulin, and is available as a human recombinant product. NPH is used commonly in animals with diabetes, and is typically given subcutaneously twice daily. Lente insulin uses zinc as a positively charged ion on which to base insulin polymerization. Polymers are absorbed and metabolized slowly so that the onset and duration of lente insulin are extended beyond those of regular insulin. Human recombinant lente insulin has been removed from the United States market and is not longer available for use. Porcine lente insulin, however, has gained in popularity and is currently marketed and labelled for use in dogs and cats. Currently available veterinary products are Vetsulin® (U.S.) and Caninsulin®(Europe, Australia, Canada). Vetsulin, however has been largely removed from the U.S. market and is only available through special arrangement with the manufacturer. While identical to canine insulin, porcine insulin is dissimilar in amino acid sequence when compared to feline insulin, but it is no more divergent (by 3 amino acids) than is human insulin. Lente is typically given twice daily by subcutaneous injection, and studies in cats show it is a reasonable choice for treating diabetic cats.1 A recent study suggested the duration of porcine lente is shorter than either PZI or glargine in cats.
Protamine zinc insulin
PZI has been used extensively in feline diabetes. It is typically given subcutaneously twice daily, with a starting dose of 1-3 U/cat. This insulin preparation was widely available, but was largely removed from the human market in the 1990's. Recently, PZI preparations marketed for use in cats have once again become available. One veterinary PZI product, a preparation of 90% beef insulin and 10% pork insulin, was removed from the market two years ago, but a human recombinant protamine zinc insulin product approved for feline diabetics was introduced in 2009. This insulin was the subject of a multi-center clinical trial reported by Nelson et al.3 In that study of 133 diabetic cats, "good" glycemic control was defined as an average blood glucose concentration below 200 mg/dl during a 9-hour blood glucose curve. A glucose nadir of less than 150 mg/dl was also considered good, as was a serum fructosamine concentration lower than 450 μmol/L. In that study, after 45 days of twice daily treatment with PZI, 60 percent of cats exhibited good glycemic control based on the glucose nadir. Seventy-five percent of cat owners reported improved polydipsia, and 79 percent reported improved polyuria.
PZI is also available from compounding pharmacies.. Care should be taken when using PZI acquired from compounding pharmacies because of quality control issues.

domain: chemistry


text: In this study we examined by impalement techniques properties of the macroscopic K+ conductances in the luminal and basolateral membrane of principal cells from isolated perfused cortical collecting ducts (CCD) of the rat. Both membranes possess a dominating K+ conductance. Compared to their behaviour with K+, both membranes appear much less permeable to NH+4 and Rb+, and the K+ conductances of both membranes are inhibited by these cations. In light of these findings, it is very unlikely that significant amounts of NH+4, which is secreted in the CCD, cross the principal cells as NH+4. Several inhibitors with known effects on K+ channels in patch-clamp studies have been examined. Tetraethylammonium, which inhibits the excised K+ channels of these cells, has no effect on the macroscopic K+ conductances of either membrane. Verapamil, which inhibits the K+ channels in the luminal membrane, acts predominantly on the basolateral membrane K+ conductance in the intact tubule. Therefore, some of the macroscopic properties of the K+ conductances are distinct from those of single channels thus far observed in patch-clamp studies.

domain: literature


Systems and methods for dynamic sortation of objects
An automated shuttle sorter is disclosed that includes a carriage that is movable from a load position at which the carriage may be loaded, and at least two destination locations into which any contents of the carriage may be provided from the carriage.
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The present application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/241,779, filed Aug. 19, 2016, which claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 62/263,050 filed Dec. 4, 2015 as well as U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 62/265,181 filed Dec. 9, 2015, the entire disclosures of which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entireties.BACKGROUND
The invention generally relates to sortation systems, and relates in particular to robotic and other sortation systems for sorting objects, where the sortation systems are intended to be used in dynamic environments requiring the systems to accommodate the processing of a variety of objects.
Current distribution center sorting systems, for example, generally assume an inflexible sequence of operations whereby a disorganized stream of input objects is first singulated into a single stream of isolated objects presented one at a time to a scanner that identifies the object. An induction element (e.g., a conveyor, a tilt tray, or manually movable bins) transport the objects to the desired destination or further processing station, which may be a bin, a chute, a bag or a conveyor etc.
In typical parcel sortation systems, human workers or automated systems typically retrieve parcels in an arrival order, and sort each parcel or object into a collection bin based on a set of given heuristics. For instance, all objects of like type might go to a collection bin, or all objects in a single customer order, or all objects destined for the same shipping destination, etc. The human workers or automated systems are required to receive objects and to move each to their assigned collection bin. If the number of different types of input (received) objects is large, a large number of collection bins is required.
Such a system has inherent inefficiencies as well as inflexibilities since the desired goal is to match incoming objects to assigned collection bins. Such systems may require a large number of collection bins (and therefore a large amount of physical space, large capital costs, and large operating costs) in part, because sorting all objects to all destinations at once is not always most efficient.
In short, when automating sortation of objects, there are a few main things to consider: 1) the overall system throughput (parcels sorted per hour), 2) the number of diverts (i.e., number of discrete locations to which an object can be routed), 3) the total area of sortation system (square feet), and 4) the annual costs to run the system (man-hours, electrical costs, cost of disposable components).
Current state-of-the-art sortation systems rely on human labor to some extent. Most solutions rely on a worker that is performing sortation, by scanning an object from an induction area (chute, table, etc.) and placing the object in a staging location, conveyor, or collection bin. When a bin is full or the controlling software system decides that it needs to be emptied, another worker empties the bin into a bag, box, or other container, and sends that container on to the next processing step. Such a system has limits on throughput (i.e., how fast can human workers sort to or empty bins in this fashion) and on number of diverts (i.e., for a given bin size, only so many bins may be arranged to be within efficient reach of human workers).
Other partially automated sortation systems involve the use of recirculating conveyors and tilt trays, where the tilt trays receive objects by human sortation, and each tilt tray moves past a scanner. Each object is then scanned and moved to a pre-defined location assigned to the object. The tray then tilts to drop the object into the location. Further partially automated systems, such as the bomb-bay style recirculating conveyor, involve having trays open doors on the bottom of each tray at the time that the tray is positioned over a predefined chute, and the object is then dropped from the tray into the chute. Again, the objects are scanned while in the tray, which assumes that any identifying code is visible to the scanner.
Such partially automated systems are lacking in key areas. As noted, these conveyors have discrete trays that can be loaded with an object; they then pass through scan tunnels that scan the object and associate it with the tray in which it is riding. When the tray passes the correct bin, a trigger mechanism causes the tray to dump the object into the bin. A drawback with such systems however, is that every divert requires an actuator, which increases the mechanical complexity and the cost per divert can be very high.
An alternative is to use human labor to increase the number of diverts, or collection bins, available in the system. This decreases system installation costs, but increases the operating costs. Multiple cells may then work in parallel, effectively multiplying throughput linearly while keeping the number of expensive automated diverts at a minimum. Such diverts do not ID an object and cannot divert it to a particular spot, but rather they work with beam breaks or other sensors to seek to ensure that indiscriminate bunches of objects get appropriately diverted. The lower cost of such diverts coupled with the low number of diverts keep the overall system divert cost low.
Unfortunately, these systems don't address the limitations to total number of system bins. The system is simply diverting an equal share of the total objects to each parallel manual cell. Thus each parallel sortation cell must have all the same collection bins designations; otherwise an object might be delivered to a cell that does not have a bin to which that object is mapped.
There remains a need for a more efficient and more cost effective object sortation system that sorts objects of a variety of sizes and weights into appropriate collection bins or trays of fixed sizes, yet is efficient in handling objects of such varying sizes and weights.SUMMARY
In accordance with an embodiment, the invention provides an automated shuttle sorter that includes a carriage that is movable from a load position at which the carriage may be loaded, and at least two destination locations into which any contents of the carriage may be provided from the carriage.
In accordance with another embodiment, the invention provides a sortation system that includes an automated carriage for receiving an object at a load station from an object identification system. The automated carriage includes an automated transport system for reciprocally moving between at least two destination stations, and a transfer system for transferring the object from the automated carriage into one of the at least two destination stations.
In accordance with a further embodiment, the invention provides a method of sorting objects. The method includes the steps of acquiring an object to be sorted from an input station, identifying the object, providing the object to an automated carriage that is reciprocally movable between at least two destination stations, and moving the object to one of the at least two destination stations.
The following description may be further understood with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:
The drawings are shown for illustrative purposes only.DETAILED DESCRIPTION
In accordance with various embodiments, the invention provides an inherently more flexible object sortation system in which objects may be selected in a most advantageous order, and the sortation of those objects may take advantage of dynamically varying correspondence between the sorter outputs and the ultimate object destinations. The invention further provides a highly efficient and readily scalable system for providing the transport and distribution of objects.
Systems and methods of the present invention are well suited to applications in current sortation systems that receive objects in a disorganized stream and are required to sort the objects into sorted streams. Such systems recognize that reading information on an object may sometimes be challenging, so that once an object is scanned, it is important to keep the information associated with the object. The acquisition of objects from disorganized jumbles is challenging, and once an object is acquired, it is important to keep the object separated from other objects. Further, the transport and conveying systems have limited flexibility, typically following a single track that passes every possible destination.
In accordance with certain embodiments, the invention provides systems and methods that upend basic assumptions of current sortation systems, with improvements in each of the challenges identified above. The systems, in some embodiments, provide improved transport and distribution, and further provide for the identification of the entire object's shape and disposition, reducing or eliminating the need to keep the object separate from others. The use of robotic manipulators improves the reliability and economy of acquiring objects, even when in a jumble with other objects, reducing the need to maintain separation of objects. The systems, in further embodiments, provide improved transport and conveyor systems, and provide learning algorithms in particular, that allow dynamically changing patterns of object handling, with resulting efficiencies in the sortation process, lower space requirements, lower demand for manual operations, and as a consequence, lower capital and operating costs for the entire system.
During use, each sorting station 12, 14 may either select an object and then identify the selected object by a detection device on the articulated arm, or may use the articulated arm to hold the object in front of a scanner, or may place the object into a scanner as discussed below, or may first identify an object prior to selection, and then grasp the identified object. In any event, the system then assigns a bin to the object if a new bin is available and the object is not yet assigned a bin at that sorting station. What is significant is that the sorting station is not pre-assigned a large set of collection bins assigned to all possible objects that may appear in the input path. Further, the central controller may employ a wide variety of heuristics that may further shape the process of dynamically assigning objects to collection bins as discussed in more detail below. The input conveyor may be also provided as a loop conveyor on which objects pass by multiple sorting stations, or the input conveyor may be provided as multiple conveyors on which objects pass by multiple sorting stations. The invention provides, therefore, examples of sortation systems that involve moving infeed objects directly to a buffer, without human intervention. The buffer holds the objects, possibly in a disorganized jumble, where they may be accessed by one of several sorters. The perception system may read labels when they are visible, but may also use more general machine vision algorithms to identify object class and shape, and to track objects as they are circulated. The sorters acquire objects from the buffer. If needed, they use their own perception systems to read labels not previously read. They may move objects to any of several outputs, including the possibility of placing an object back on the buffer, either for later handling or for handling by a different sorter.
Systems of various embodiments provide numerous advantages because of the inherent dynamic flexibility. The flexible correspondence between sorter outputs and destinations provides that there may be fewer sorter outputs than destinations, so the entire system may require less space. The flexible correspondence between sorter outputs and destinations also provides that the system may choose the most efficient order in which to handle objects, in a way that varies with the particular mix of objects and downstream demand. The system is also easily scalable, by adding sorters, and more robust since the failure of a single sorter might be handled dynamically without even stopping the system. It should be possible for sorters to exercise discretion in the order of objects, favoring objects that need to be handled quickly, or favoring objects for which the given sorter may have a specialized gripper.
The system may also employ a flexible destination stage, including a process for dynamically changing the correspondence of sorter outputs and system destinations using a switch based on heuristics from the sortation process. The system may dynamically map sorter outputs to system destinations based on long-term historical usage trends and statistics, or items already processed, or current contents of other dynamically allocated sorter outputs, or average, minimum or maximum time-to-sort associated with each sorter output, or physical characteristics of the items sorted, or apriori information, or known future deliveries, or location within a facility, including the physical location relative to other allocated sorter outputs (e.g., above, beside, on or nearby), or incoming shipments, as well as knowing what items are currently upstream of the sortation process and combinations of the above. Further, systems of embodiments of the invention provide that information regarding correspondence between sorter outputs to system destinations may be provided to an automated system for sorting.
By making use of heuristics, the mapping of sorter outputs to system destinations can be improved substantially over traditional fixed allocation. Destinations may be assigned on the fly, reducing wasted space from unused sorter outputs and decreasing the time it takes to process incoming objects. Long-term historic trends may be used to allocate sorter outputs when the next incoming group of objects is either in-part or entirely unknown. Historical usage patterns provide insight into when objects bound for certain destinations can be expected to arrive, the number of objects bound for each destination expected for any given time, and the probable physical properties of these incoming objects.
In addition to trends pertaining to incoming objects, historical trends provide information on the speed at which objects can be sorted into outputs, and the rate at which outputs are transferred to system destinations. These factors allow sorter outputs to be allocated probabilistically until a deterministic understanding of incoming objects is achieved.
In addition to historic trends, an understanding of the current state of the system is used to ensure that there is an appropriate amount of space allocated for those objects that are expected to arrive. When combined with the knowledge of those objects that have already been sorted, the correspondence of sorter outputs to system destinations can typically be allocated deterministically. A knowledge of those objects already processed and the contents of current sorter outputs allows the system to optionally remap the sorter outputs once they have been emptied of their contents. In the case that there aren't enough sorter outputs, this knowledge also allows the system to specify which sorter outputs should be emptied such that they can quickly be reallocated to new system destinations.
A further consideration when dynamically allocating sorter outputs is to take into account the physical characteristics of the packages and the facility. If a certain destination is expected to receive larger, unwieldy objects, then an appropriately-sized sorter output can be allocated. If a particular system destination will require more than a single sorter output, then two adjacent outputs can be allocated with the same destination in order to facilitate human intervention.
A method is also presented for displaying the sorter output-system destination correspondence information next to the destinations. This allows human workers interacting with the system to understand how and when to properly empty the destinations. In addition, critical to autonomous sortation is the ability to send these destination allocations to a sortation system without human intervention. This allows for the construction of fully-streamlined sortation system software.
The carriage system for placement at destination locations is also efficient and scalable. As shown in
In accordance with certain embodiments therefore, systems of the invention may employ carriages that shuttle back and forth along shuttle directions. Such systems may rely on a pre-sortation step, where an object is sorted first to the correct sortation station, and once there, it is sorted into the proper collection bin. In this fashion, different stations can have different collection bin mappings, allowing the total number of system bins to be multiplied by the number of parallel sortation stations operating. Such pre-sortation steps however, must be either complicated and expensive automated systems, or must rely on yet more human work; either way adds cost which raises the overall cost per divert of the system to unacceptably high levels. The invention provides a new approach to object sortation that yields a large (and very flexible and scalable) number of total collection bins, very low divert costs per bin, throughput as high as that of a manual system, and a far smaller need for manual labor to operate.
In addition to the overhead camera 308, the system also includes a drop scanner 316 that includes an open top and open bottom, and a plurality of cameras positioned within the unit 316 that are aimed at the top, mid and lower central regions of the interior of the unit 316, as disclosed, for example, in U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 62/269,640 filed Dec. 18, 2015 and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/228,692, filed Aug. 4, 2016, the disclosures of which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entireties. The plurality of cameras take images of an object when it is dropped by the end effector 304 through the unit 316. The unit 316 may also include lights within the unit 316, and one or more sensors (e.g., laser sensors) at the top of the unit 316 that detect when an object is dropped into the unit 316. The plurality of cameras are designed to collect a plurality of images of each object from multiple views (ideally all possible views) to aid in identifying or confirming the identity of the dropped object.
The dropped object then falls into a first carriage 318 that is provided on a track 320 on which the conveyor 318 may be moved automatically between a first sortation stage 322 and a second sortation stage 324 on either side of the area in which the object was dropped. The first carriage 318 is also provided with actuators that may selectively cause the carriage to tip on either side of the track 320 to dump its contents into either the carriage 50 at sortation stage 322 or sortation stage 324, similar to the operation of the carriage 50 discussed above with reference to
The system of
The shuttle sorter system therefore includes an object carriage on a motorized linear slide that travels above a double row of collection bins. The carriage is loaded with an object and then moves along the linear slide until it has reached the collection bin where the object belongs; it then uses rotational actuation to eject the object to one side or the other, where it falls into one of the two collection bins at that location. The carrier then returns to the home position to await another object.
In the concept as shown, each system 200 is limited to 8 collection bins long, for 16 total collection bins per wing. The length of collection bins traveled by the linear carriage should be balanced with other throughput factors in the system. Given achievable speeds for belt driven linear actuators, distances, and picking speed of the articulated arm, this length of 8 collection bins is a reasonable length that does not adversely limit system throughput (i.e., the articulated arm does not have to wait for a carriage to return to home before picking another object). At this 8×2 or 16 collection bin count, each system 200 has a divert cost far less per intelligent divert for currently fielded solutions, as discussed above.
Systems in the prior art also do not use back and forth style sortation because the shuttle can only handle one item at a time, and the shuttle needs to return to its home position after each sort. In this system, this concern is alleviated in three ways: 1) multiple systems 200 are used in parallel, 2) frequent destinations are assigned to collection bins closer to the shuttle's home position, thereby reducing the average cycle time of the shuttle, and 3) mapping of objects to collection bins is dynamic and under the control of the system as discussed above with reference to the system of
Systems of the invention are therefore, highly scalable.
Again, in addition to the overhead camera 408, the system also includes a drop scanner unit 416, which includes an open top and open bottom, and a plurality of cameras positioned within the unit 416 that are aimed at the top, mid and lower central regions of the interior of the unit 416, as discussed above with reference to drop scanner unit 316 of
The system 400 therefore includes 64 total collection bins. This system may be further scaled to add more collection bins. The first shuttle sorter (that transfers objects from the picking robot to the systems 200) may also be lengthened to accommodate 4 shuttle systems 200 before system throughput is adversely affected.
In particular, the system may be further expanded by again doubling the number of systems 200. This requires the addition of another shuttle sorter that takes the object from the picking robot and delivers it to one of the 4 systems 200. This keeps the shuttle sort back and forth travel time from adversely effecting overall system throughput. Such a system is shown in
Again, the system 500 also includes a drop scanner 516, which includes an open top and open bottom, and a plurality of cameras positioned within the scanner 516 that are aimed at the top, mid and lower central regions of the interior of the scanner 516, as discussed above with reference to drop scanner 316 of
In each of the systems 300, 400 and 500, the carriages 318, 418, 518, 520 are able to travel along its track in a direction far enough to reach both the input conveyor as well as the non-sortable output chute. This provides that the system may elect to send an object in the first carriage to either the input conveyor to be re-processed, or to the non-sortable output chute if the object is not sortable.
The system also provides, in each embodiment, dynamic collection bin allocation as discussed above. In typical human manned systems, collection bins are statically associated (to destinations, next stop facilities, customers, etc) and don't change frequently; this is so that efficiency benefits, may be gained by humans learning the association and cubby locations. In the systems discussed above, no such constraints exist, since the system is placing all of the objects in collection bins, and it always has comprehensive knowledge of which objects are in the system, which are in each bin, etc. The systems also have knowledge of all historical sortation activity, meaning that historical trends can be used to make even smarter choices about collection bin allocation.
If, for example, the historical data suggests that two of the collection bins in this system get the most objects in each sort cycle, then the system will allocate one of these bins to the first system 200 (wing), and one to the second, thus ensuring that all the high volume bins are not on one wing creating a bottleneck. The system may also allocate bins close to the beginning of the wing, thereby ensuring minimum cycle times for the busiest collection bins. Further, if the system needs an empty bin, it can signal to a human operator to come and empty a given bin, allowing that bin to be used as soon as it is emptied. These strategies ensure that the cycle time of the shuttle sort wings does not impact overall system throughput.
Additionally, the system may also allocate and group objects so as to maximize any other arbitrary cost function. Such a sortation system is almost always a small part of a large system, usually extending across multiple facilities around the state, country, or world. As a part of such a large network, the performance of this system inevitably has impacts on costs elsewhere in the network. By understanding these impacts, the system presented here can allocate objects to collection bins in order to minimize cost impact elsewhere in the macro network.
In this system concept, additional articulated arms (robots) may also be added to each of the concepts to scale throughput for the system. By adding robots and shuttle sort wings, and tuning shuttle sorter speeds and robot picking/scanning speeds, a wide range of overall system throughputs and collection bin counts are possible using the same basic architecture.
For further scaling 8 wings fed by one pick/scan station may be a maximum for certain applications. To scale a maximum number of bins and a maximum throughput beyond this, multiple of these stations can be parallelized and fed by manual or automated means, just as manual sort cells are fed in concepts discussed in the prior art. This allows for continued linear scaling of throughput, as well as for greater numbers of collection bins, since the system can now dynamically allocate between all the bins in all the wings in all of the parallel cells.
Those skilled in the art will appreciate that numerous modifications and variations may be made to the above disclosed embodiments without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention.
1. An automated shuttle sorter comprising:
- at least two rows of destination locations disposed on opposing sides of a track, each row of destination locations comprising a plurality of destination locations; and
- a carriage that is reciprocally movable along the track between a load position at which the carriage is loaded by dropping an object into the carriage and an unload position adjacent to a target destination location among the at least two rows of destination locations,
- wherein the carriage includes an actuator that selectively causes the carriage to tip transverse to a direction of the track to dump the object into the target destination location, and
- wherein the carriage moves along the track in a first direction from the load position to the unload position adjacent to the target destination location and moves in a reverse direction along the track to return to the load position after dumping the object into the target destination location.
2. The automated shuttle sorter as claimed in claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of destination locations includes a bin that is provided on a movable drawer.
3. The automated shuttle sorter as claimed in claim 2, wherein the movable drawer includes at least one indicator indicating the status of a bin.
4. The automated shuttle sorter as claimed in claim 1, wherein the shuttle sorter includes at least eight destination bins.
5. A sortation system including at least two automated shuttle sorters as claimed in claim 1.
6. The automated shutter sorter as claimed in claim 1, further comprising:
- a plurality of guide walls disposed between the plurality of destination locations in each row for guiding objects dumped from the carriage into any of the plurality of destination locations, and
- wherein each of the plurality of guide walls has a height that exceeds a height of the carriage and a cross sectional area that defines a passage that enables the carriage to move along the track in a tipped configuration.
7. The automated shutter sorter of claim 1, wherein destination locations that are assigned to objects more frequently than other destination locations are positioned closer to the load position of the track.
8. A sortation system comprising:
- an input station comprising an object identification system;
- a plurality of automated shuttle sorters, each automated shuttle sorter comprising: at least two rows of destination stations disposed on opposing sides of a track, each row of destination stations comprising a plurality of destination stations; an automated hinged carriage for receiving an object at a load station, said automated hinged carriage for reciprocally moving along the track between the load station and a target destination station among the at least two rows of destination stations; and dumping means including a hinge about which the automated hinged carriage is rotatable for dumping the object from the automated hinged carriage into the target destination station,
- wherein said object is automatically moved from the input station to the load station of one of the plurality of automated shutter sorters after said object is dropped from said object identification system.
9. The sortation system as claimed in claim 8, wherein said input station includes an input conveyor on which objects are provided to be sorted.
10. The sortation system as claimed in claim 9, wherein said sortation system further includes an initial automated hinged carriage that is able to move to the input conveyor such that an object is returned to the input conveyor by the automated hinged carriage.
11. The sortation system as claimed in claim 10, wherein said input station includes an output chute for providing objects that said object identification system is not able to process.
12. The sortation system as claimed in claim 11, wherein said initial automated hinged carriage is further able to move to the output chute such that an object is moved to the output chute by the initial automated hinged carriage.
13. The sortation system as claimed in claim 8, wherein each destination station includes guide walls for guiding entry of an object into respective destination stations, and wherein the guide walls do not obstruct movement of the automated hinged carriage in a tilted ejection position.
14. The sortation system as claimed in claim 8, wherein said object identification system includes a scanner system that includes multiple scanners.
15. The sortation system as claimed in claim 14, wherein said multiple scanners of said object identification system are positioned to scan an object as said object is falling through said object identification system.
16. The sortation system as claimed in claim 8, wherein said automated hinged carriage is able to dump any contents of the carriage in a direction transverse to a direction of movement of the automated carriage.
17. The sortation system as claimed in claim 8, wherein said automated hinged carriage is able to dump any contents of the carriage in two opposing directions that are transverse to a direction of movement of the automated hinged carriage.
18. The sortation system as claimed in claim 8, wherein said sortation system includes at least one robotic system for selecting and grasping objects to be sorted and provided to the object identification system.
19. The sortation system as claimed in claim 8, further comprising:
- an initial automated hinged carriage that moves between respective load stations of the plurality of automated shuttle sorters,
- wherein said object is dropped from said object identification system into the initial automated hinged carriage and the initial carriage automatically moves to the load station of one of the plurality of automated shutter sorters.
20. A method of sorting objects, said method comprising the steps of:
- acquiring an object to be sorted from an input station;
- identifying the object;
- providing the object at a load station to an automated carriage that is reciprocally movable along a track disposed between at least two rows of destination stations;
- dynamically assigning the object to a target destination station among the at least two rows of destination stations based on an identity of the object, wherein destination stations that are assigned to objects more frequently than other destination stations are positioned closer to the load station;
- moving the automated carriage containing the object along the track between the at least row rows of destination locations from the load station to the target destination station in a first direction;
- dropping the object into the target destination station; and
- returning the automated carriage to the loading station by moving the automated carriage along the track in a second direction that is opposite the first direction.
21. The method as claimed in claim 20, wherein said step of identifying the object includes scanning the object with a plurality of cameras as the object is falling.
22. The method as claimed in claim 21, wherein the plurality of cameras are positioned above an additional automated carriage such that the object falls past the plurality of cameras into the additional automated carriage.
23. The method as claimed in claim 20, wherein the step of providing the object to the automated carriage includes dropping the object into the automated carriage.
24. The method as claimed in claim 20, wherein the step of dropping the object into the target destination station includes rotating the automated carriage about a hinge such that the automated carriage tips transverse to a direction of the track.
25. The method as claimed in claim 20, wherein the step of returning the automated carriage to the loading station comprises moving the automated carriage in a tipped configuration at least partially along the track in the second direction towards the loading station.
26. An automated shuttle sorter comprising:
- at least two rows of destination locations disposed on opposing sides of a track, each row of destination locations comprising a plurality of destination locations; and
- a carriage that is reciprocally movable along the track between a load position at which the carriage is loaded by dropping an object into the carriage and an unload position adjacent to a target destination location among the at least two rows of destination locations, wherein the carriage includes an actuator that selectively causes the carriage to tip transverse to a direction of the track to dump the object into the target destination location; and
- a plurality of guide walls disposed between the plurality of destination locations in each row for guiding objects dumped from the carriage into any of the plurality of destination locations, and wherein each of the plurality of guide walls has a height that exceeds a height of the carriage and a cross sectional area that defines a passage that enables the carriage to move along the track in a tipped configuration.
27. The automated shuttle sorter as claimed in claim 26, wherein each of the plurality of destination locations includes a bin that is provided on a movable drawer.
28. The automated shuttle sorter as claimed in claim 27, wherein the movable drawer includes at least one indicator indicating the status of a bin.
29. The automated shuttle sorter as claimed in claim 26, wherein the shuttle sorter includes at least eight destination bins.
30. A sortation system including at least two automated shuttle sorters as claimed in claim 26.
31. The automated shutter sorter as claimed in claim 26, wherein the carriage moves along the track in a first direction from the load position to the unload position adjacent to the target destination location and moves in a reverse direction along the track to return to the load position after dumping the object into the target destination location.
32. The automated shutter sorter of claim 26, wherein destination locations that are assigned to objects more frequently than other destination locations are positioned closer to the load position of the track.
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Filed: Aug 19, 2016
Date of Patent: Aug 4, 2020
Patent Publication Number: 20170157649
Assignee: Berkshire Grey, Inc. (Lexington, MA)
Inventors: Thomas Wagner (Concord, MA), Kevin Ahearn (Fort Mill, SC), Benjamin Cohen (Somerville, MA), Michael Dawson-Haggerty (Pittsburgh, PA), Christopher Geyer (Arlington, MA), Thomas Koletschka (Cambridge, MA), Kyle Maroney (North Attleboro, MA), Matthew T. Mason (Pittsburgh, PA), Gene Temple Price (Cambridge, MA), Joseph Romano (San Jose, CA), Daniel Smith (Canonsburg, PA), Siddhartha Srinivasa (Seattle, WA), Prasanna Velagapudi (Pittsburgh, PA), Thomas Allen (Reading, MA)
Primary Examiner: Charles A Fox
Assistant Examiner: Kalyanavenkateshware Kumar
Application Number: 15/241,779
International Classification: B07C 5/36 (20060101); G05B 19/418 (20060101); B07C 3/08 (20060101); B65G 47/96 (20060101); B07C 5/34 (20060101); B07C 3/00 (20060101); B07C 3/02 (20060101); B07C 3/14 (20060101); G06Q 10/08 (20120101);


text:
More unsavoury information about Village Roadshow and its appalling tax
planning emerged in yesterday’s ongoing case in the Melbourne Supreme
Court, as this report in The Australian reveals:
Village Roadshow managing director Graham Burke was forced to sell his
family farm in order to meet a huge tax bill after the Australian
Taxation Office shut down a trust designed to minimise income tax paid
by top Village executives.
Burke told the Victorian Supreme Court yesterday he was forced to sell
the farm – a 280ha property at Moyston in Victoria’s central west – to
repay the ATO after it disallowed deductions claimed by a remuneration
The trust had been set up by former executive director Peter Ziegler as
a tax-effective vehicle for Village bosses, including Mr Burke and
chairman Robert Kirby, the court was told in an earlier hearing.
Get Crikey FREE to your inbox every weekday morning with the Crikey Worm.
“I wished in my life I hadn’t been party to all of that, tax schemes,
because subsequently they blew up. It was very unpleasant,” Mr Burke
CRIKEY: Today’s story, part of The Australian’s
excellent coverage of this disgraceful saga, runs under the heading
“Village scheme cost Burke’s backyard.” Let’s hope they clear out all
the goats, including the top goats, from Burke’s backyard once the case

domain: law


text:
Search over 1 million properties and 550 airlines worldwide
Free cancellation on most hotels. Because flexibility matters.
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Reviewed on Nov. 26, 2020
Galveston Hotel Guide
Visiting Galveston? There's an abundance of accommodation options to choose from. Expedia's extensive and up-to-date database has 70 places to base yourself within a 0.1-kilometre (0.06-mile) radius of central Galveston.
Texas City is a very good area to book accommodation because it offers 11 places to base yourself. Texas City is 14 kilometres (9 miles) from the middle of Galveston. The Holiday Inn Express Hotel & Suites Texas City and Quality Inn are some of the hotels in this area. Also popular with those exploring this area is Seawall Boulevard which is an alternative Galveston accommodation neighborhood that is 4 kilometres (3 miles) from downtown Galveston. The Hotel Galvez & Spa, A Wyndham Grand Hotel and DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Galveston Beach are among the 29 accommodation options in Seawall Boulevard.
Alvin, La Marque and Silk Stocking National Historic Distric are alternative Galveston areas that have Expedia-listed hotels. If you intend to book somewhere to stay in Alvin, take your pick from the Holiday Inn Express Hotel & Suites Houston-Alvin and La Quinta Inn & Suites Alvin. Alternatively, La Marque's hotels include the Americas Best Value Inn & Suites-Texas City/La Marque and Super 8 La Marque TX/Texas City Area. In Silk Stocking National Historic Distric visitors can make a selection between The Villa Bed & Breakfast and Avenue O Bed & Breakfast.
The The Dawn by A B Sea Rentals and also the Moody Gardens Hotel, Spa and Convention Center are conveniently within a short walk from the Moody Gardens, while the Hampton Inn & Suites Galveston and Maravilla Condos are situated close to the Lone Star Flight Museum. The Bishop's Palace, another popular Galveston attraction, is not far from the Four Points by Sheraton Galveston and the Country Inn & Suites By Carlson, Galveston Beach, TX. Hotels that are near the Texas Seaport Museum include the La Quinta Inn Galveston East Beach and the Best Western Plus Seawall Inn & Suites By The Beach.
Frequently asked questions
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domain: geography


Remove Oil Stains and Restore Damaged Asphalt
Oil stained asphalt is right at your front door and customers must frequently walk through it to enter your store. It’s a greasy eye sore and has been there so long that the asphalt is crumbling and breaking up, causing holes, and slip or trip hazards. Sun, water, frost, fuels, and oils, start the deterioration and oxidation process from the first day that the asphalt is laid, and everyday thereafter. Contaminants that come in contact with the asphalt binders, soften it, breaking it down until it eventually crumbles apart.
Up until now, one fix has been to cover the entire lot of asphalt with an expensive and controversial coal tar sealant, which is banned in states like Washington and Minnesota. Another fix is to spend between $500 and $1,200 per spot, or hole, to have a contractor come and cut out the damaged asphalt and replace it. Both options are expensive, time consuming, and shut down portions of your site for a day or more.
Recommendation: CAF recommends an eco-friendly alternative that is proven to CLEAN, HARDEN and PROTECT oil stained asphalt. It is fast, effective, easy to apply, and much less costly than previous methods. FORO® Asphalt Cleaner and Hardener is an all-natural asphalt cleaner, hardener and protector that combines bioremediation, absorption, and active ingredients to prevent asphalt damage and improve the appearance and useful life of parking lots and driveways. Regular use of FORO provides protection from oil and fuel drips that can soften asphalt within hours, all without the use of dangerous chemicals.
FORO on the right, after 3 applications (1 month)
How Does FORO® Work?
- It Cleans
- FORO absorbs and suspends fuels and oils on the surface of the pavement
- Surfactants in FORO emulsify and disperse oil
- Bacteria consume the oils, cleaning the asphalt
- FORO color and cover immediately improves appearance of oil stained areas
- Clean stores sell more!
- It Hardens
- Oxidizers in FORO reharden the top protective layer of pavement
- Natural bacteria oxidize oils and help re-oxidize oil-damaged bitumen on the surface of the asphalt pavement
- Oxidizing upper layer of asphalt keeps lower layers from losing structural integrity (deformation and raveling) and from losing VOCs (cracking and becoming brittle)
- It Protects
- FORO restores the protective oxidized layer to keep hydrocarbons from penetrating beyond asphalt surface
- Absorbents in FORO keep oils and fuels at the surface of the pavement to prevent deformation, cracking, water intrusion, and eventual exposure of the road bed, and allow improved bioremediation
- Regular use of FORO establishes bacterial colonies that multiply when exposed to a food source – oil


text:
The National Hurricane Center said in its 8 a.m. advisory Thursday that the storm was moving northeast at 8 mph with maximum sustained winds reduced to 65 mph, compared to 150 mph winds on Wednesday.
The center of the storm is expected to soon move away from the east-central Florida coast and toward the South Carolina coast on Friday, where it could re-intensify before weakening as it moves inland through the Carolinas, according to the National Hurricane Center.
The sheriff of Lee County in southwestern Florida, which was hit hard by the storm, estimated early Thursday that Ian’s deaths “number in the hundreds.”
“I don’t have confirmed numbers. I definitely know the deaths are in the hundreds,” Carmine Marceno said on ABC’s “Good Morning America.”
“There are thousands of people waiting to be rescued, and again we can’t give a real assessment until we’re on the scene, assessing every scene, and we can’t access people, that’s the problem.”
The storm knocked out power to more than 2 million people in Florida early Thursday, a number that is sure to rise as the storm continues its path through the state.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis warned during a Wednesday night appearance on Globe Live Media that the hurricane will bring “some of the biggest flooding we’ve ever had. What remains to be seen is how much damage the wind did. It’s obviously very significant.”
The White House said in its disaster declaration that damage assessments are continuing in other areas of the state, “and additional areas may be designated for assistance once assessments are fully completed.”
Biden’s approval comes a day after DeSantis officially requested a statewide disaster declaration. The entire Florida congressional delegation also wrote to Biden in support of DeSantis’ request.
“This historic hurricane will continue to affect the state for some time, and the full extent of the damage will not be known for days. However, approving this declaration request will allow Floridians to be better prepared for the recovery phase,” the lawmakers said in a letter.
The Governor held multiple briefings throughout the week on the state’s response to the hurricane in Tallahassee and throughout the state. Florida prepared teams for search and rescue missions and activated 5,000 National Guard soldiers to assist in recovery efforts. At least 40,000 workers are on standby to help restore power.
“This is going to be one of those historic storms, and it’s really going to shape communities in Southwest Florida and have a profound impact on our state,” DeSantis said Wednesday. “So we just ask people for their thoughts and their prayers.”
At least 2.5 million people were under evacuation orders in some areas, and while many fled to higher ground, some stayed in their homes.
On Wednesday, officials advised people who remained in their homes in evacuation areas to shelter in place, including Federal Emergency Management Agency Administrator Deanne Criswell, who said members of the Department of Defense, Department of the Interior, and US Coast Guard search and rescue capability.
Karen Baughman, 81, of Fort Myers, Fla., was unable to evacuate her home before the hurricane hit and took shelter in her home Wednesday. She said that she felt safe and that there was no flooding in her neighborhood.
“I’ve been through three hurricanes here and only once did I have to go to a shelter,” he said in an interview. “My house felt safe. It has always sounded worse, the predictions, than it has been. And I really didn’t know where I was going to go.”

domain: news


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The smash hit broadway play, Hamilton, is going to begin streaming on Disney Plus on July 3! The play was slated to hit theaters in Fall of 2021, but due to the state of the nation they have moved the release date to this summer. However, there are still plans for the play to hit theaters, but that date is unknown, and in the meantime Disney, put out $75 million dollars to stream it.
Image via TheaterinChicago
The play will feature the original cast, which was filmed by director Thomas Kail. According to playwright and composter, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Kail has given everyone at home the best seat in the house with the way he captured the live performance on camera. Miranda, also stated how excited he is for everyone to see it. This play will definitely bring joy to lots of households during the quarantine.
Image via Variety
Since it hit the broadway stage back in 2016, Hamilton has been a big sold out hit. It’s been hard to get a ticket to this show, not only because of it being sold out, but due to the starting price of tickets ranging from $450-$600. Now, people will be able to stream it for just $6.99 a month, which is a great ray of sunshine during this pandemic. It’s been a dream for some time to see this play, and now it will have a more than reasonable price to sit front row.
Another one of Miranda’s plays, In the Heights, was slated to be released in theaters in July, of this year but it’s been pushed to June 2021. We may have to wait until next year to see that one, but at least we have Hamilton to look forward to.
You can subscribe to Disney Plus here.

domain: entertainment


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OBJECTIVES The utility of a depth of lesion classification using an SPGR MRI sequence in children with moderate to severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) was examined. Clinical and depth of lesion classification measures of TBI severity were used to predict neurological and functional outcome after TBI.
METHODS One hundred and six children, aged 4 to 19, with moderate to severe TBI admitted to a rehabilitation unit had an SPGR MRI sequence obtained 3 months afterTBI. Acquired images were analyzed for location, number, and size of lesions. The Glasgow coma scale (GCS) was the clinical indicator of severity. The deepest lesion present was used for depth of lesion classification. Speed of injury was inferred from the type of injury. The disability rating scale at the time of discharge from the rehabilitation unit (DRS1) and at 1 year follow up (DRS2) were functional outcome measures.
RESULTS The depth of lesion classification was significantly correlated with GCS severity, number of lesions, and both functional measures, DRS1 and DRS2. This result was more robust for time 1, probably due to the greater number of psychosocial factors impacting on functioning at time 2. Lesion volume was not correlated with the depth of lesion model. In multivariate models, depth of lesion was most predictive of DRS1, whereas GCS was most predictive of DRS2.
CONCLUSIONS A depth of lesion classification of TBI severity may have clinical utility in predicting functional outcome in children and adolescents with moderate to severe TBI.
- traumatic brain injury
- magnetic resonance imaging
- Glasgow coma scale
- lesion depth
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Ottawa Citizen parliamentary bureau chief Mark Kennedy sat down this week with the leaders of the three main political parties as voters prepare for the Oct. 19 election. Today: Conservative Leader Stephen Harper.
TORONTO – Conservative Leader Stephen Harper says he doesn’t think Canadians will cast their vote based on what they think of his personality, but instead on what’s in their own “best interests” – including their pocketbook.
As well, Harper rejects criticism that he is trying to get re-elected on a campaign of fear-mongering through his strong stand against Muslim women who wish to wear the niqab at citizenship ceremonies, or by declaring that dual nationals convicted of terrorism should be stripped of their Canadian citizenship.
Instead, he says he is onside with the “overwhelming” majority of Canadians on these issues and it’s the opposition leaders who are trying to create divisions where there is unity.
Harper made the comments in an interview…
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16. 05. 2014
ICFF New York 2014
Cassina 2014 Collection presentation Featuring special guest Jaime Hayon, designer of the Vico sofa.
Frank Lloyd Wright again exclusive to the Cassina Collection in North America.
To celebrate Cassina presents the Barrel Taliesin, an extra-large version of the iconic Barrel chair.
Simon, the historic Italian brand founded by Dino Gavina in 1968 and acquired by Cassina in 2013.
Cassina SimonCollezione The origins of Italian design meet.
Saturday, May 17th 2014
Cassina Showroom New York
151 Wooster street

domain: artistic


The fact that the President endorsing same-sex marriage has not hurt him one blip in the polls is a huge victory for us.
The conventional wisdom was, as I wrote in my Daily Beast piece last week, that embracing gay rights at the national level didn’t benefit Democrats outside of a small constituency, and might actually hurt them at the polls. Then, over DADT was repealed and nothing happened, and now the President endorses marriage equality and nothing happened. As I wrote in the piece:
Gay rights switched from being perceived as an albatross around the necks of national Democrats to an issue that could galvanize the party’s base.
Suddenly, Democratic politicians are realizing that there isn’t much of a downside, at the national level, for supporting, and following through on, our civil rights.
In the poll, a combined 17 percent say it makes them “much more likely” or “somewhat more likely” they will vote for him. That’s compared with a combined 20 percent who say the announcement will make them more likely to vote for Mitt Romney, who opposes gay marriage.
Perhaps more importantly, 62 percent say the president’s support for gay marriage doesn’t make a difference in their vote — including 75 percent of independents, 76 percent of moderates, 81 percent of African Americans, and 65 percent of residents in the Midwest.


The regular monthly meeting of theÂ Jamaica Plain Neighborhood Council will be on
Tuesday, September 28 at 7pm. Due to construction at Curtis Hall, the meeting will take place at the First Baptist Church, 633 Centre Street.
On the agenda this month:
- A presentation from Jim Hunt andÂ Joe Walsh of the City of Boston Renew Boston program, an initiative that supports energy saving improvements for homes and businesses
- AÂ presentation from James Madden and Celia Segal from theÂ Committee to Protect the Affordable Housing Law, the organization sponsoring the No on 2 campaign.
Have questions or need more information? Send us an email at firstname.lastname@example.org.


A sold out Seventh Annual South Side Soup Contest was held this past weekend in the Pittsburgh south side as 25 local restaurants battled for the Stanley Cup of soup. 1,200 particpants crawled along Carson Street tasting sample-sized soups on a sunny but windy day.
This year’s event encompassed a crawler-only voting format, whereas past years a panel of judges determined the winner. Despite the change in format, the tallied votes didn’t change the outcome as 2010 champion Yo Rita repeated the title for a second straight year. Yo Rita served it’s Parsnip Soup from nearby Cindy Esser’s Floral Shop.
The event was a success in multiple ways. With another sellout year, the South Side Local Development Company was able to continue to raise money and food for the local Brashear Association. The event brought crawlers from all over the region to participate in the growing event, up another participant from last year. And this year in particular, one future Carson Street business – Local Bar and Kitchen – allowed crawlers to sample the creativity of their chefs prior to their restaurant even opening by offering a Pierogi Soup.
The South Side Soup Contest is produced by the South Side Local Development Company and proceeds benefit The Brashear Association’s Food Pantry.


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NANAIMO — A surprisingly frank and profane news release from the owners of Nanaimo North Town Centre says they are giving up on traditional retailers and will only sell Harlequin novels from now on.
“Honestly, at some point we just have to say ‘fuck it’ ,” says the release. “We’ve tried getting retailers other than cheap art galleries to lease space in the mall but nobody’s biting.”
“So…. fuck it,” the release continues. “We’ll sell shitty romance novels, and nothing more. Is THAT what you want to buy, Nanaimo? Because honestly, we have no goddamned idea.”
Despite having 600,000 sq. ft., the mall has struggled in recent years to attract any retailers other than low-end art stores.
Workers began loading the 2.4 million Harlequin novels into the mall this past weekend, at the same time that mall owners distributed eviction notices to its existing tenants.
To promote the new Harlequin inventory, mall owners say restrictions will be placed on children attending the upcoming Kids Easter Art Event. Children will only be permitted to draw, paint, or sketch steamy, suggestive scenes from Harlequin covers. The free event occurs April 20th from 12:00pm to 2:00pm.


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With the start of pre-season less than a week away Rainworth MW secured another signature in 23-year-old former Derby County defender Mark Dudley.
Dudley, who was at Brigg last year, committed to the club last week after a meeting with manager Kevin Gee.
Mark who has previously been at Notts County, Derby County, Hinckley, Stafford Rangers, Tamworth and Alfreton is well known to Gee, who said: “ I’ve known Mark since he was 14 when I worked with him at Notts County and, although still only 23, he has a CV that he should be proud of.
“He has a lot of experience for someone so young; but as with all young professionals the transition once released from League clubs can be quite difficult.
“It results in being passed from club to club over a short space of time which in itself is difficult to adjust to.
“But you also lose an important part in your development.
“I’m a big believer in developing young players, and Mark again fits that bill, but the Evo-Stik is a tough baptism for young players and they have to grow up very quickly.”
He added: “I know Duds is still hungry to progress up the Pyramid; having probably bottomed out; so it’s up to me and my backroom staff to accelerate Mark’s development and see where it takes us.
“There is going to be competition for all places this year, something which, unfortunately, due to financial restraints, we have not been in a position to do since arriving at the club.
“For the players, both the existing and new ones who have committed, and those who have expressed an interest to come and have a look at us; have no guarantees.
“It’s a blank canvass from next Tuesday onwards and the players pick the team not me; so I’m looking forward to getting started.
“We will have been back three weeks before our first pre-season game on the 6th July against Shirebrook when I’m hopeful by then our squad will have been finalised.
“I have to be fair to all the players concerned; considering the large number wanting to train with us.
“This should give those players time to join other clubs; should they not make that final 20.”
On his signature Dudley confirmed: “I have known the gaffer for the last nine years and liked the sound of what he and the club are trying to achieve and where they want to be.
“I want to be part of it as Rainworth are a progressive club that try to play football in the right way. I know how the gaffer works and what standards and demands he sets, and of course Chalkie is a first class coach. So I am looking forward to the new challenge.
“I know they believe in developing players and getting the best out of somebody, but it has to be a two way thing and you have to buy into those methods and be totally committed.”

domain: sports


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George Carlin brings his comedy back to New Jersey and this time talks about Offensive Language, Euphemisms, They're Only Words, Dogs, Things you never hear, see or wanna hear, Some people ... See full summary »
Comedy and television star Louis C.K. returns to HBO for an hour of no-holds-barred, adults-only stand-up comedy! Taped before a live audience at the Henry Fonda Theater in Los Angeles, the... See full summary »
The daily adventures of New York cabdriver George O'Grady who, while not the weirdest man in New York, is "definitely in the top three." When not expounding his theories on government ... See full summary »
George Carlin brings his comedy back to New Jersey and this time talks about Offensive Language, Euphemisms, They're Only Words, Dogs, Things you never hear, see or wanna hear, Some people are stupid, Cancer, Feminists, Good Ideas, Rape, Life's moments, and organ donors. Written by
Jack Gattanella <firstname.lastname@example.org>
George Carlin's Doin' It Again is a comedy film that gives new word to, words. Here, he talks about euphemisms (and reveals a new found anger for pussyfied language), dogs, cancer, stupid people, PC and offensive language and feminist bjs. Not for all tastes (ESPECIALLY FEMINISTS), but for Carlin fans or general comedy fans, this is beckoning you. Favorite line: "It's getting so bad now I expect a rape victim referred to as a unwilling sperm recipient!" Excellent 6th special. A++
4 of 5 people found this review helpful.
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Bad news for fans of the Right, I’m afraid. We’ve checked with some of the experts and it turns out that the GOP has no chance to win the next presidential election. The details are found in, The Republican Party’s uphill path to 270 electoral votes in 2016 elections.
A recent conversation with a veteran of GOP presidential campaigns raised this question: Which, if any, of the recent battleground states are likely to become more Republican by 2016? The consensus: very few.
That reality highlights one problem Republicans face as they seek to regain the White House after six years under President Obama. Lots of factors affect elections: the quality of the candidates, the state of the economy, the effectiveness of the campaigns. But in a country whose demographics continue to change, Republicans will begin this campaign with one significant disadvantage.Over the past three decades, the political leanings of many states have shifted dramatically. What once was a sizable Republican advantage in the electoral college has become a decided Democratic advantage..
Well, I guess that’s that then. But look on the bright side… think of all the money we’ll save by not flushing it down a rat hole, supporting a candidate who is just going to lose. No matter whether it’s Christie, Cruz, Ryan, Walker or Palin, the result is the same… ignominious defeat.
But the good news is that the Democrats are going to lose too! The Democrat Party’s uphill path to 270 electoral votes in 2016.
In April 2012, two other political scientists — Seth Hill and Lynn Vavreck — and I did a presidential election forecasting model for The Washington Post. The model had only three factors: The change in gross domestic product in the first two quarters of the election year, the president’s approval rating as of June of that year and whether the incumbent was running. That model forecast that Obama would win in 2012, and — although there is nothing magic about this model — it was ultimately accurate within a percentage point.
It is far too early to do a formal forecast for 2016. The economic and political conditions in that year will be paramount. But given that at least some in the GOP appear pessimistic as of today, it’s worth asking: If economic and political conditions in 2016 were the same as they are today, what would happen? So assume that Obama’s approval rating is about 41 percent. Assume that GDP has grown 1.6 percent in the first two quarters of 2016. And, of course, no incumbent will be running.
Based on those assumptions, the model predicts that the Republican Party has a 64 percent chance of winning the presidency. That is far from 100 percent, of course. At the same time, it doesn’t suggest much cause for GOP pessimism in January 2014 — maybe even some Democratic pessimism, in fact.
Apparently a member of the Libertarian Party is going to win. I have no idea who they’ll nominate, unless it’s possibly Rand Paul if he fails to take the GOP nomination. (Say… that might not the craziest scenario after all.)
The point is that it’s far too early to say. I will admit that if the Democrats nominate Hillary it will be tough sledding. If their party is good at anything it’s building a meme around a “Candidate of Destiny” to capture the nation’s imagination. And the First Woman President will be some powerful catnip for an influential demographic.
But at the same time one has to wonder if a significant chunk of the electorate will keep in mind what happened to them after they elected the last Candidate of Destiny (twice). With the legacy of lost jobs, a trashed health care system, skyrocketing energy costs and more, perhaps … just perhaps… they will have reason to pause and think it through. But the two articles above should provide one important lesson to us all. We need to get through the mid-terms first before we start worrying about that. Such predictions are little more than wishful thinking at this point, and there’s a lot of water to wash under the bridge between now and then.


Common Signs That a Boiler Needs to Be Fixed
A boiler is used to create and distribute hot water to faucets throughout a home or office building. If it is not working properly, it may be impossible to wash your hands properly, wash dishes or perform other tasks. There are many warning signs that a boiler is not working properly, and repairing a broken unit may prevent significant damage occurring to the boiler itself or to your property.
The Water Is Too Hot or Too Cold
If you are unable to get a consistent stream of warm or hot water to come out of a faucet, it is likely because there is something wrong with the boiler. In some cases, a malfunctioning boiler will result in water that is hotter than it should be. In addition to inconsistent water temperature, you may also have issues with water pressure.
There Is Noise Coming From the Boiler
Generally speaking, boilers are designed to be as quiet as possible. If you hear a hissing noise or any other excess noise coming from the unit, it could be a sign that something is not right. For example, it could be that there is pressure buildup inside of it or that sediment is building up inside of the boiler. Excess sediment could result in a popping or cracking sound inside the unit itself.
Get Outside If You Smell Gas
If you smell gas coming from the boiler, turn it off and get outside immediately. From there, call for emergency personnel to come to your location. Furthermore, you may want to call a New York City boiler inspection company to look at the unit and determine the extent of the damage. In some cases, it may be necessary to completely replace it to ensure that your home or office is safe to live or work in.


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AYER -- The Ayer Police Department was recently awarded a $4,674 grant from the Executive Office of Public Safety's Highway Safety Division to combat underage drinking.
The grant will support compliance checks in bars, restaurants and retail locations. It will also fund reverse stings and "Cops in Shops'' programs, along with "shoulder tap" solicitations, surveillance patrols, and party patrols.
Through a combination of these techniques, police analyze and crackdown on minors who seek to circumvent the law and the businesses that enable them.
"This much needed funding helps us target the problem of underage drinking on all fronts,'' said Ayer Police Chief William Murray. "Whether you are underage, plan to sell to a minor, or buy alcohol for a minor, this funding promotes our effort to diligently enforce the laws against underage drinking," he said.


These errors are popping up during the installation of Office 2013 via the microsoft online portal. It finishes the install but doesn't actually install successfully. Happening on Lenovo's running Windows 7 Pro. This is really killing our migration to Office 365...if anyone knows a solution. Please help me out!!!! :(
Thanks in advance!
Jul 30, 2014 at 7:47 UTC
I have similar problems duringthe installation of Office 2013 HUP ProPlus, on a Lenovo running Windows8. The following message pops-up : perfboost.exe, system error. Impossible to run the program because Appvisvstram32.dll is missing.
Have you found the solution ?
I have. It was discovered that their was a group policy causing this issue. We created a new OU for the computers with the basic domain security policy lined to the OU. That fixed the issue.
Sep 10, 2014 at 12:44 UTC
I have this same problem but I don't understand your fix or how it can help me.
I was able to finally resolve this issue. It was due to a group policy we had in place. Created a new AD group without any policies and it worked .


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Five days. Four hikers. Three survivors. From Lori Lansens, author of the national bestsellers Rush Home Road, The Girls and The Wife's Tale comes a gripping tale of adventure, sacrifice and survival in the unforgiving wilderness of a legendary mountain.
On his 18th birthday, Wolf Truly takes the tramway to the top of the mountain that looms over Palm Springs, intending to jump to his death. Instead he encounters strangers wandering in the mountain wilderness, three women who will change the course of his life. Through a series of missteps he and the women wind up stranded, in view of the city below, but without a way down. They endure five days in freezing temperatures without food or water or shelter, and somehow find the courage to carry on.
Wolf, now a grown man, has never told his son, or anyone, what happened on the mountain during those five days, but he can't put it off any longer. And in telling the story to his only child, Daniel, he at last explores the nature of the ties that bind and the sacrifices people will make for love. The mountain still has a hold on Wolf, composed of equal parts beauty and terror.
About the author
LORI LANSENS was a successful screenwriter before writing her first novel, Rush Home Road, which was translated into twelve languages and published in fifteen countries. Her follow-up novel, The Girls, was an international success and was a Richard & Judy book-club pick in the UK, selling 300,000 copies. Her next book was The Wife’s Tale, which became a national bestseller, as did her fourth novel, The Mountain Story, described in the Globe and Mail as a “feat of storytelling” of “almost devastating emotional force.” Continuing the remarkable trend, her fifth novel, This Little Light, also became a national bestseller. Born and raised in Chatham, Ontario, Lansens now lives in California.
“The Mountain Story is equal parts poignant drama and palm-sweaty suspense; Lori Lansens has delivered a page-turner.”
—Ann-Marie MacDonald, author of Fall on Your Knees and Adult Onset
“An expertly crafted novel about how ordinary lives can be changed by an extraordinary mountain. If climbing speaks to how we can find truth and beauty in hardship, Lansens shows that it is also a way to see inside our souls. I loved this novel.”
—Claire Cameron, author of The Bear
“Lori Lansens writes with extravagant heart and vitality. In this vertigo-inducing book, she wrenches us into an adventure that pits spectacular danger in the present against the ever-present danger of the past.”
—Marina Endicott, author of Good to a Fault and The Little Shadows
“It’s an incredible feat to write a harrowing, heart-stopping, brilliantly plotted survival novel. But also to make it moving, meditative, and sometimes even funny? Lori Lansens has done these things and much, much more with The Mountain Story. She is a master of this kind of literary balancing act, that rare writer who can create a great page-turner while effortlessly gracing it with stunning sentences and unforgettable characters. Wolf, Vonn, Bridget and Nola: you are with them on that mountain. And even while you know this book is going to break your heart, it blankets you with unbelievable hope. It’s crazy good.”
—Lisa Gabriele, author of Tempting Faith DiNapoli and The Almost Archer Sisters
“Lori Lansens’ gripping new novel, The Mountain Story, combines the best elements of survival adventure, family drama and coming-of-age narrative. What captured my heart was Wolf’s deep respect for nature: his own, those of the women he tries to protect, and that of the flora, fauna and climate on the mountain. The novel shows us how we can be better in the face of incommensurable grief.”
—Kathryn Kuitenbrouwer, author of All the Broken Things
“With The Mountain Story Lori Lansens gives us a riveting novel of heartbreak, heroism and redemption. Lansens writes with breathtaking compassion and insight, creating characters as captivating and unpredictable as the rugged mountain that holds them hostage. Rich, suspenseful and relentless, this book delivers equal measures of high drama and humanity that will keep readers spellbound until the last word.”
—Carol Shaben, author of Into the Abyss
“Like a luge ride—you hop on with three generations of women and don’t breathe until you arrive at the end. A carefully plotted, smart and funny novel about hanging on for dear life.”
—Katherine Govier, author of The Ghost Brush