text: Wavefront-Guided Scleral Lens Prosthetic Device for KeratoconusSabesan, Ramkumar*; Johns, Lynette†; Tomashevskaya, Olga‡; Jacobs, Deborah S.§; Rosenthal, Perry§; Yoon, Geunyoung*Optometry and Vision Science: April 2013 - Volume 90 - Issue 4 - p 314–323 doi: 10.1097/OPX.0b013e318288d19c Original Articles Abstract Author Information Article Outline Purpose To investigate the feasibility of correcting ocular higher order aberrations (HOAs) in keratoconus (KC) using wavefront-guided optics in a scleral lens prosthetic device (SLPD). Methods Six advanced KC patients (11 eyes) were fitted with an SLPD with conventional spherical optics. A custom-made Shack-Hartmann wavefront sensor was used to measure aberrations through a dilated pupil wearing the SLPD. The position of SLPD, that is, horizontal and vertical decentration relative to the pupil and rotation were measured and incorporated into the design of the wavefront-guided optics for the customized SLPD. A submicron-precision lathe created the designed irregular profile on the front surface of the device. The residual aberrations of the same eyes wearing the SLPD with wavefront-guided optics were subsequently measured. Visual performance with natural mesopic pupil was compared between SLPDs having conventional spherical and wavefront-guided optics by measuring best-corrected high-contrast visual acuity and contrast sensitivity. Results Root mean square of HOA in the 11 eyes wearing conventional SLPD with spherical optics was 1.17 ± 0.57 μm for a 6-mm pupil. Higher order aberrations were effectively corrected by the customized SLPD with wavefront-guided optics, and root mean square was reduced 3.1 times on average to 0.37 ± 0.19 μm for the same pupil. This correction resulted in significant improvement of 1.9 lines in mean visual acuity (p < 0.05). Contrast sensitivity was also significantly improved by factors of 2.4, 1.8, and 1.4 on average for 4, 8, and 12 cycles/degree, respectively (p < 0.05 for all frequencies). Although the residual aberration was comparable to that of normal eyes, the average visual acuity in logMAR with the customized SLPD was 0.21, substantially worse than normal acuity. Conclusions The customized SLPD with wavefront-guided optics corrected the HOA of advanced KC patients to normal levels and improved their vision significantly. *PhD †OD, FAAO ‡M.Engg §MD Flaum Eye Institute, Center for Visual Science, Institute for Optics, University of Rochester, Rochester, New York (RS, GY); and Boston Foundation for Sight, Needham, Massachusetts (LJ, OT, DSJ, PR). Ramkumar Sabesan G3183A Box 314 Flaum Eye Institute University of Rochester Rochester, New York 14624 e-mail: email@example.com Abstract METHODS Subjects Design of SLPD with Wavefront-Guided Optics Optical and Visual Performance Evaluation RESULTS DISCUSSION ACKNOWLEDGMENTS REFERENCES In 1961, Smirnov1 suggested, on quantifying the optical imperfections of the eye, that it was conceivable to make lenses to correct them. However, he also remarked that it was highly impractical given the laborious nature of the aberration measurements. Recent technological advances have allowed the routine and accurate quantification of the ocular higher order aberrations (HOAs) in normal eyes.2–4 Using these advanced methodologies, the abnormal corneal disorder of keratoconus (KC) has also been evaluated.5,6 The main optical consequence of the corneal steepening and thinning in KC is the presence of a large magnitude of HOA, approximately five to six times typically found in normal eyes, thus severely degrading retinal image quality. For a 5.7-mm pupil, Guirao et al.7 theoretically demonstrated that an improvement by a factor of 12 in retinal image contrast at 16 cycles/degree could be achievable in KC compared with only 2.5-fold benefit in normal eyes with the correction of HOA. Similarly for a 6-mm pupil, when computing the area under the modulation transfer function, Pantanelli et al.5 estimated a 4.4-fold improvement in retinal image quality in KC compared with only 2.1-fold improvement in normal eyes with correction of HOA. Therefore, these KC patients stand to benefit to a great extent by correcting HOA. An important feature of ocular HOA in general, whether normal or highly aberrated eyes, is the interindividual variability. Although vertical coma and secondary astigmatism show a consistent trend across the KC population, being negative in sign, there is substantial variability in sign and magnitude of HOA. Therefore, any methodology proposed to correct for HOA must account for the particular aberration profile of the patient. Pupil size, receptoral sampling limits, and postreceptoral neural factors are additional important factors to bear in mind while aiming at maximizing visual benefit with an optical correction.8 In normal eyes, customized optical and surgical methods, such as adaptive optics,9,10 phase plates,11 and customized laser refractive surgery12 have been proposed to compensate for HOA to provide improvements in vision. However, limited effort has been made toward developing such methodologies for KC. Presently, rigid gas-permeable (RGP) corneal and scleral lenses are considered the standard of correction in KC. These lenses achieve correction by masking corneal irregularities with the tear lens between the posterior lens surface and the anterior corneal surface. RGP corneal contact lenses are 8.5 to 10.5 mm in diameter and cover only 75 to 80% of the cornea. Miniscleral, corneoscleral, and scleral lenses that range in diameter from 13 to 24 mm, depending on type or fit, may rest partly on the cornea. A scleral lens prosthetic device (SLPD) with diameters ranging from 17.5 to 24 mm is designed and fit to vault the cornea entirely. A noteworthy difference between RGP corneal lens and SLPD is the dynamic movement of these corrective devices on the eye. A well-fitted corneal RGP lens slides with each blink to allow for tear exchange necessary for physiological tolerance at the corneal surfaces where contact is made. Optical correction in an RGP corneal lens is thus inherently unstable. A carefully fitted SLPD is expected to exhibit minimal movement because the bearing haptic aligns with a large area of conjunctiva overlying the sclera. Suction is avoided by precise alignment with the sclera or by creation of channels on the posterior surface.13,14 The devices used in this study were approved by the US Food and Drug Administration in 1994 for daily wear in the treatment of irregular astigmatism and ocular surface disorders. During the past 20 years, these devices have been referred to as the Boston Scleral Contact Lens, the Boston Scleral Lens, the Boston Scleral Lens Device, the Boston Scleral Lens Prosthetic Device, and the Boston Ocular Surface Prosthesis manufactured by the Boston Foundation for Sight, Needham, MA. The clinical benefits of an SLPD in terms of improvement in visual acuity and visual function across a wide range of diagnoses including KC have been established.15 By virtue of their larger diameter and broader bearing zone, these devices have been used in the treatment of various other forms of corneal ectasia, corneal irregularity after transplant, ulcers, dry eye syndrome, ocular surface disease, and others.16,17 Despite the large diameter and complexity of fitting and training in insertion and removal, high patient satisfaction in terms of wearing comfort has been observed with scleral lenses in the management of corneal abnormality.18 Reduction of HOA has been reported in normal and KC eyes with corneal RGP lens19–22 and SLPD.23 However, because these lenses minimize only anterior corneal aberrations, significant posterior corneal aberrations remain uncompensated.24 In addition, aberrations such as coma and astigmatism are induced because of RGP corneal lens rotation and decentration, further degrading retinal image quality. The positional stability between blinks caused by the large surface coverage in SLPD makes it an ideal platform for wavefront-guided correction of HOA in KC. Soft contact lenses with wavefront-guided surface profiles have also been shown to have potential in correcting HOA and improving vision in KC.25–27 In such a scheme of correction in two eyes with KC shown by López-Gil et al.,25 the lens was designed according to the aberration profile of the eye, but the reduction in HOA and improvement in vision were relatively small. One possible explanation for the small average reduction in HOA could be the failure to account for the decentration and rotation of the contact lens on the eye. Static and dynamic contact lens movements critically affect correction performance of HOA, as the lens is not aligned to the center of the visual axis, especially in eyes with abnormal corneal surface profiles.11,28 Sabesan et al.26 first demonstrated a scheme of correction in KC using soft contact lenses where the lens was designed by accounting for both the eye's aberration profile and the static lens decentration and rotation on eye. Using these wavefront-guided customized soft contact lenses, Sabesan et al.26 demonstrated an improvement in optical quality by a factor of 3 in HOA with respect to the conventional lens on average in three KC patients. The improved optics resulted in an average improvement of 2.1 lines in visual acuity over the conventional correction of defocus and astigmatism alone. However, the residual higher order wavefront error was still nearly double of what is observed in normal eyes. This residual error was explained to a reasonable extent by manufacturing error and lens movement. To reduce the variability of lens position by conferring mechanical stability between blinks, Chen et al.29 used back surface customized soft contact lenses whose posterior surface profiles were sculpted to match the anterior corneal surface in KC. On-eye performance of the back surface customized soft contact lens demonstrated that the lens stability was improved by a factor of 2 for horizontal and vertical decentration and a factor of 5 in rotational orientation over conventional lens. However, significant residual HOA induced by internal optics, especially posterior corneal surface still degraded retinal image quality. Additional customization of the front surface of the lens thus has the potential to further correct these residual aberrations. In this article, the feasibility of correcting HOA in eyes with advanced KC using SLPD with wavefront-guided optics was investigated, with the aim of reducing optical aberrations to normal levels. The SLPD was chosen as the platform for customization because of its excellent positional stability on the eye. A custom-built Shack-Hartmann wavefront sensor equipped with the large dynamic range of wavefront measurement and real-time pupil imaging capability was used to overcome the limitations of clinically available aberrometers in evaluating severely aberrated KC. Optical and visual performance was measured with SLPD on eye with conventional spherical optics and wavefront-guided optics to determine the efficacy of customized treatment. Back to Top | Article Outline METHODS Subjects The New England Institutional Review Board approved this research, and all patients signed an informed consent form before their participation in this study. All procedures involving human patients were in accordance with the tenets of the Declaration of Helsinki. Six patients with advanced KC (11 eyes) were enrolled in this study. Their average age and steep K reading was 41.2 ± 10.6 years and 58.0 ± 13.5 diopters (D), respectively. Other than KC, all eyes had otherwise normal eye examination and clear media, with the exception of one eye that had history of hydrops with residual scar outside the visual axis and another eye that had an incidental finding of a small polar congenital cataract. Back to Top | Article Outline Design of SLPD with Wavefront-Guided Optics The patients were fitted first with conventional SLPD with spherical optics. Each conventional spherical optics device featured a central optic zone with a customized peripheral haptic that aligned with the sclera. By incorporating back surface toricity and quadrant-specific adjustments, there was minimal to no compression nor impingement of the conjunctiva. The toricity was defined as an increase of sagittal depth at the edge from the flattest meridian, without any angular dependence. The meridians were 90 degrees apart and aligned to the scleral toricity as a bitoric or back surface toric corneal gas-permeable lens would. Satisfactory fit was confirmed with the absence of rebound hyperemia (from compression) and the absence of conjunctival staining (from impingement) after removal of the device worn for 6 hours. Spline functions were used to create seamless transition zones, allowing control of vault above the cornea independent of lens base curve. Each device had varying amounts of back surface toricity that varied independently between four quadrants. Back surface toricity provided the alignment of the haptic to the scleral shape but did not extend into the central optic zone of 10 mm. This fitting process was repeated for every eye so that the fit of the conventional SLPD was customized to minimize its dynamic movement. In most cases, one trial was sufficient to ensure a satisfactory device. Precise alignment points were lathe-cut around the edge of the conventional SLPD to determine its movement on the eye. A surgical marking pen was used to color the alignment marks with black ink under a microscope to aid their visibility in pupil images. The schematic of the design of SLPD with wavefront-guided optics is shown in Fig. 1. The pupil of each subject's eye was dilated using 1% tropicamide ophthalmic solution, so that wavefront aberration measurement could be obtained over the largest measurable pupil. Aberrations of the KC eyes wearing conventional SLPD with spherical optics were first measured using a custom-made Shack-Hartmann wavefront sensor with simultaneous pupil imaging capability. The wavefront calculated from the Shack-Hartmann spot pattern served as the profile to be fabricated on the device. Using the device center as the coordinate system origin, the static horizontal (Δx), vertical (Δy) decentration, and rotation (Δϕ) of the device with respect to the pupil center were quantified from the pupil images using custom-built software in MATLAB (MathWorks Inc., Natick, MA). A submicron precision computerized lathe (Precitech Nanoform 250, AMETEK; Precitech, Inc., Keene, NH) was used to diamond-turn the irregular profile on the front surface of the device. The optic zone diameter for manufacturing the optical correction corresponded to the maximum measurable wavefront diameter through the pharmacologically dilated pupil ranging from 7 to 8.5 mm in our subject group. The customized SLPD with wavefront-guided optics, thus manufactured, was first evaluated using optical metrology described in the following section to determine the precision of its fabrication. This was followed by a comparison of its optical and visual performance with the conventional SLPD with spherical optics when placed on the same eye. FIGURE 1 Back to Top | Article Outline Optical and Visual Performance Evaluation Optical metrology to measure the precision of fabrication was performed with a custom-developed Shack-Hartmann wavefront sensor. This sensor was specifically designed to measure the optical aberrations of contact and scleral lenses in vitro whether in their dry or hydrated state. The fidelity of measurement has been established previously and described elsewhere30 in the case of soft contact lenses. For this study, aberration measurements were performed for the customized SLPD with wavefront-guided optics and compared with its corresponding design parameters. On-eye performance was evaluated by another custom-developed Shack-Hartmann wavefront sensor by measuring optical aberrations with the conventional and customized SLPD in situ. The pupil of the eye was optically conjugated to the Shack-Hartmann microlens array after demagnifying it by 33%. The Shack-Hartmann microlens array had a spacing of 150 μm and a focal length of 3.76 mm. The spot pattern formed by the microlens array was imaged on a charge coupled device camera with 6.45-μm pixel size. Wavefront aberrations were calculated from this spot array pattern and decomposed into coefficients of Zernike polynomials up to the sixth order. Zernike coefficients were expressed over a 6-mm pupil across all eyes for comparison between the conventional and customized SLPD. The eye's pupil was imaged using another camera focused at the pupil plane under infrared light emitting diode illumination, simultaneously with the wavefront measurement. These pupil images allowed the quantification of x, y decentration and rotation of the SLPD with respect to the pupil center. Visual performance was evaluated monocularly under natural mesopic pupil condition by measuring high-contrast tumbling "E" visual acuity and contrast sensitivity using a calibrated cathode ray tube display. The display was placed 10 ft from the patient in a dark room. The untested eye was occluded. The tumbling "E" test used the four-alternate forced-choice method where the illiterate letter "E" was presented to the observer in one of four orientations, 0, 90, 180, or 270 degrees, and the observer's task was to respond to the orientation of the letter by pressing the appropriate button. A psychometric function based on 30 trials was derived by using the QUEST paradigm.31 Visual acuity was determined as the line thickness of the letter for which at least 62.5% of the observer's responses were correct. Contrast sensitivity was measured similarly using the two-alternate forced-choice method where the observer's task was to distinguish the orientation of 2-D Gabor functions, shown either vertically or horizontally. A 2-D Gabor function is a sinusoidal luminance distribution overlaid with a Gaussian envelope and is routinely used in several psychophysical experiments. Contrast threshold at 4, 8, and 12 cycles/degree was determined by the contrast at the respective spatial frequency for which at least 75% of the observer's responses were correct. The size of the visual field on the retina was 3 degrees. These visual performance measurements were performed after spherocylindrical refractive error was optimized with trial lenses to assess the visual benefit of correcting only HOAs. Back to Top | Article Outline RESULTS Table 1 shows the horizontal, vertical decentration, and rotation for all the patients with the conventional and customized SLPD. For two of the eyes, these measures were not obtainable because of insufficient contrast in pupil camera images. From the designed (or measured) x and y decentration and rotation with the conventional lens, the customized SLPD with wavefront-guided optics deviated by 63.4 μm, 136.9 μm, and 6.9 degrees, respectively, on average, between the eyes. In addition, the SLPD exhibited good temporal stability on the eye between blinks. Fig. 2 shows the magnitude of vector decentration (A) and rotation (B) with time over three natural blinks, when the conventional SLPD was placed on an advanced KC eye. The offset from the designed decentration and rotation averaged within 20 seconds was 67.3 ± 54.5 μm and 0.94 ± 0.58 degrees, respectively. TABLE 1 FIGURE 2 Fig. 3 shows the higher order wavefront maps for the designed and the fabricated customized SLPD with wavefront-guided optics for one eye. The higher order root mean square (RMS) for the designed SLPD was 2.30 μm over a 7.5-mm pupil. The error in fabrication, defined as the higher order RMS difference between the designed and fabricated customized SLPD, was 0.2 μm. FIGURE 3 Table 2 shows the keratometric readings in the patients, in addition to the lower and higher order RMS with the conventional and customized SLPD. Fig. 4 shows the wavefront aberration in terms of the magnitude of Zernike polynomial coefficients with the conventional spherical and customized wavefront-guided optics SLPD in 11 KC eyes over a 6-mm pupil. Also shown is the higher order RMS of the aberrations in both cases. Mean ± SD of higher order RMS of the eyes with the conventional SLPD was 1.17 ± 0.57 μm for a 6-mm pupil. The most dominant HOA was positive vertical coma that accounted for 79% of the total HOA. Vertical coma and secondary astigmatism (Zernike single mode numbers, 7 and 13, respectively) were the only two aberrations that were consistently positive across all patients with the conventional SLPD. Almost all the HOAs were effectively corrected by the customized SLPD, and higher order RMS was reduced 3.1 times on average to 0.37 ± 0.19 μm for the same 6-mm pupil. Thus, a level of aberration similar to that observed in a normal population was achieved. TABLE 2 FIGURE 4 Panels A and B of Fig. 5 show the average visual acuity and contrast sensitivity, respectively, in the 11 KC eyes with the conventional spherical and customized wavefront-guided optics SLPD. The wavefront-guided optical correction resulted in significant improvement of 1.9 lines on average in visual acuity (p < 0.05). Contrast sensitivity was also significantly improved by factors of 2.4, 1.8, and 1.4 on average for 4, 8, and 12 cycles/degree, respectively (p < 0.05 for all frequencies). All patients reported a considerable improvement in subjective image quality. Although the magnitude of the residual aberration was comparable to that of the normal eye, the average visual acuity in Snellen equivalent with the customized SLPD with wavefront-guided optics was 20/32, significantly worse than normal acuity. Fig. 6 presents the case of the advanced KC patient (aged 37 years) whose optical quality with the customized SLPD was the best among the 11 eyes. In this eye, over 6-mm pupil, the higher order RMS of 1.67 μm with the conventional spherical optics SLPD was reduced to a value of 0.22 μm with the customized wavefront-guided optics SLPD (Fig. 6A). With the wavefront-guided correction, the high-contrast visual acuity was improved by two lines (Fig. 6B) whereas the contrast sensitivity improved by factors of 5.9, 4.8, and 3.8 for 4, 8, and 12 cycles/degree, respectively, over the spherical optics correction. However, even with substantial optical correction, the Snellen equivalent visual acuity was still 20/28.4, significantly worse than that of normal eyes. The Snellen equivalent visual acuity in four normal eyes (average age, 25 ± 4.6 years) with comparable native higher order RMS of 0.25 ± 0.04 μm over the same 6-mm pupil was also measured and is shown in Fig. 6B.32 With a similar level of wavefront error, these normal eyes obtained Snellen equivalent visual acuity of 10.7 ± 0.3, close to the approximate upper-bound sampling-limited visual acuity of 20/10. FIGURE 5 FIGURE 6 Back to Top | Article Outline DISCUSSION We have demonstrated the significant reduction of HOA by incorporating wavefront-guided optics with SLPD in advanced KC patients resulting in a substantial improvement in visual performance. This establishes the possibility of providing abnormal corneal patients with nearly a normal level of optical and visual quality using wavefront-guided corrections. In addition, the better subjective preference and corneal health with these devices make them excellent candidates for habitual wear.17,33 Although the neutralization of HOA to improve vision using ophthalmic lenses was first proposed by Smirnov1 in 1961, it has taken several decades to realize such corrections that can be clinically prescribed for treatment. Methodologies such as the use of phase plates for the correction of HOA have been developed, but face-inherent practical limitations for routine use, especially with respect to optical alignment with the pupil. The growth in wavefront sensing and submicron precision lathing technology has contributed significantly to this endeavor by allowing for accurate measurement and correction of the wave aberrations in highly aberrated eyes. Significant visual benefit on observing the large magnitudes of HOA in KC was predicted.5,7 To translate the theoretical visual benefit into practical improvement in optical and visual performance, some key factors were important. Incorporating the centration information of the corrective optic for each SLPD on eye was indispensable in achieving effective neutralization of aberrations. The effect of the interaction of the SLPD with the ocular surface was also important to account for by first undertaking the measurements with the conventional SLPD on the eye. Both these factors have been used previously in the design of wavefront-guided treatments for KC.26,27 Sabesan et al.26 achieved similar factors of improvement in optical performance and visual acuity with customized soft contact lenses in three KC eyes. However, the residual higher order wavefront error was 0.93 ± 0.19 μm for a 6-mm pupil in their study, nearly three times larger than the residual RMS of 0.37 ± 0.19 μm obtained with customized SLPD with wavefront-guided optics in this study for the same pupil size. Similarly, with customized soft contact lenses, Marsack et al.27 obtained residual higher order RMS of 0.31 and 0.38 μm for 4.25-mm pupils in two KC patients and 0.76 μm for a 4.5-mm pupil in the third KC patient. For comparison, the pupil size was renormalized from 6 to 4.5 mm in the present study, and a lower residual higher order RMS with the customized SLPD in the 11 KC eyes, equal to 0.22 ± 0.11 μm, was obtained. Both these previous studies used soft contact lens as the vehicle for customization that faces additional limitations such as the effect of variable and dynamic lens movement and lens flexure when it conforms to the cornea. In addition, the masking of the anterior corneal aberrations with the tear lens caused by refractive index matching is minimal with soft lenses compared with RGP lenses. The latter maintains its physical attributes when placed on the eye and partially compensates the anterior corneal irregularities by the aforementioned tear film masking. However, with conventional corneal RGP lens, scleral lens, and SLPD, an overcorrection of aberrations can be expected because of two factors. First, the aberrations arising from the posterior cornea and crystalline lens, which partially compensate for the anterior corneal aberrations in the naked eye, remain uncorrected with these lenses. Chen and Yoon24 showed that the resultant vertical coma induced by the internal optics is positive in sign. Second, aberrations induced because of the static decentration of the corneal RGP lens, scleral lens, and SLPD affect retinal image quality significantly. Spherical surfaces of these lenses induce positive spherical aberration. This, combined with the decentration with respect to the pupil, gives rise to coma and astigmatism. The vertical coma induced because of static decentration of corneal RGP lens and SLPD is also positive in sign because they normally rest inferiorly to the pupil by about 1 mm. Therefore, the aberrations arising from internal optics and inferior decentration of spherical optics account for the positive sign of vertical coma with the conventional SLPD shown in Fig. 4, which is otherwise negative in sign for an uncorrected eye with keratoconus.5 Overcorrection of negative vertical coma was also observed with RGP corneal lens correction previously.34 To overcome these additional residual aberrations, the front surface of the conventional SLPD was sculpted in accordance with both the measured wavefront aberration with the SLPD on eye and its static movement. The custom-developed high-dynamic range Shack-Hartmann wavefront sensor with pupil imaging capability ensured rapid and accurate quantification of these parameters. It is important, however, to quantify the movement of these devices across a longer period to investigate their dynamic stability. Unlike conventional corneal RGP and soft contact lenses, we found that the static deviation of the optic zone from the designed position was minimal in the SLPD. This, combined with the submicron precision lathing technology, facilitated an excellent optical correction by 3.1 times in higher order RMS, leading to a substantial improvement in visual performance. Wavefront-guided SLPDs thus offer, for the first time, a superior optical correction of highly aberrated eyes to around what is typically observed in normal eyes. Interestingly, the visual acuity was still significantly poorer than what is typically observed in the normal population over the same pupil size. For instance, in the case of the patient shown in Fig. 6, the residual higher order RMS was as low as 0.22 μm over a 6-mm pupil, but the Snellen visual acuity was still significantly worse than normal eyes at 20/28.4. For the same level of higher order RMS in normal eyes, visual acuity better than 20/15 can be expected. Inexplicable by optical factors, this discrepancy in visual performance might be attributed to postreceptoral neural factors. In particular, long-term visual experience with poor retinal image quality in KC may restrict the visual benefit achievable immediately after the customized correction. Isolation of the neural factors from optical factors in determining the causes for restricted visual performance is tedious with such customized ophthalmic lenses because of practical difficulties and relatively higher residual aberrations. By surpassing the limit imposed by the optics of the eye using adaptive optics, Sabesan and Yoon35 recently compared the postreceptoral neural factors in normal eyes and in patients with KC. Visual acuity was significantly worse in KC compared with those in normal eyes even after completely correcting aberrations to similar near-diffraction limited retinal image quality in both groups. As a consequence of chronic exposure to blur in KC patients, there might be a loss in sensitivity to fine spatial detail, as present in a perfect retinal image, thus limiting the visual performance when correcting the ocular optics completely. Such neural deficit in the presence of HOA correction observed in KC might be considered analogous to meridional amblyopia observed in astigmats36 and to subnormal visual performance in low myopes after HOA correction.37 It is important to note that such neural deficit in KC arises long after visual development is completed whereas meridional amblyopia occurs during visual development. Moving forward, it is of both scientific and clinical interest to investigate the time taken for the visual system to readapt to the improved ocular optics, as provided by wavefront-guided SLPD, to achieve maximum visual performance. In summary, wavefront-guided customized SLPD provided substantial reduction in HOA in advanced KC, thus providing them for the first time with a normal level of ocular optics. The corrected optics led to a substantial benefit in visual acuity and contrast sensitivity. However, chronic exposure to poor retinal image quality restricted the visual benefit achievable immediately after wavefront-guided customized treatment in these eyes. Nevertheless, the utility of customized ophthalmic lenses is not only limited to provide normal level of vision for KC and abnormal corneal patients but can be extended to the design of any optical treatment designated for aberration manipulation. Ramkumar Sabesan G3183A Box 314 Flaum Eye Institute University of Rochester Rochester, NY 14624 e-mail: email@example.com Back to Top | Article Outline ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This research was funded by the NIH/NEI grant RO1EY 014999 and Research to Prevent Blindness. None of the authors have any commercial interest in the matter presented in this article. This research was presented at the American Academy of Optometry annual meeting in Boston, MA, on October 12, 2011, and at the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology meeting at Fort Lauderdale, FL, on May 7, 2012. 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Stason WB, Razavi M, Jacobs DS, Shepard DS, Suaya JA, Johns L, Rosenthal P. Clinical benefits of the Boston Ocular Surface Prosthesis. Am J Ophthalmol 2010; 149: 54–61. Cited Here... | PubMed | CrossRef 16. Pullum KW, Whiting MA, Buckley RJ. Scleral contact lenses: the expanding role. Cornea 2005; 24: 269–77. Cited Here... | View Full Text | PubMed | CrossRef 17. Segal O, Barkana Y, Hourovitz D, Behrman S, Kamun Y, Avni I, Zadok D. Scleral contact lenses may help where other modalities fail. Cornea 2003; 22: 308–10. Cited Here... | View Full Text | PubMed | CrossRef 18. Visser ES, Visser R, van Lier HJ, Otten HM. Modern scleral lenses part II: patient satisfaction. Eye Contact Lens 2007; 33: 21–5. Cited Here... | View Full Text | PubMed | CrossRef 19. Hong X, Himebaugh N, Thibos LN. On-eye evaluation of optical performance of rigid and soft contact lenses. Optom Vis Sci 2001; 78: 872–80. Cited Here... | View Full Text | PubMed | CrossRef 20. Dorronsoro C, Barbero S, Llorente L, Marcos S. On-eye measurement of optical performance of rigid gas permeable contact lenses based on ocular and corneal aberrometry. Optom Vis Sci 2003; 80: 115–25. Cited Here... | View Full Text | PubMed | CrossRef 21. Marsack JD, Parker KE, Pesudovs K, Donnelly WJ 3rd, Applegate RA. Uncorrected wavefront error and visual performance during RGP wear in keratoconus. Optom Vis Sci 2007; 84: 463–70. Cited Here... | View Full Text | PubMed | CrossRef 22. Negishi K, Kumanomido T, Utsumi Y, Tsubota K. Effect of higher-order aberrations on visual function in keratoconic eyes with a rigid gas-permeable contact lens. Am J Ophthalmol 2007; 144: 924–9. Cited Here... | PubMed | CrossRef 23. Gumus K, Gire A, Pflugfelder SC. The impact of the Boston ocular surface prosthesis on wavefront higher-order aberrations. Am J Ophthalmol 2011; 151: 682–90. Cited Here... | PubMed | CrossRef 24. Chen M, Yoon G. Posterior corneal aberrations and their compensation effects on anterior corneal aberrations in keratoconic eyes. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci 2008; 49: 5645–52. Cited Here... | PubMed | CrossRef 25. López-Gil N, Chateau N, Castejón-Monchón J, Benito A. Correcting ocular aberrations by soft contact lenses. S Afr Optom 2003; 62: 173–7. Cited Here... 26. Sabesan R, Jeong TM, Carvalho L, Cox IG, Williams DR, Yoon G. Vision improvement by correcting higher-order aberrations with customized soft contact lenses in keratoconic eyes. Opt Lett 2007; 32: 1000–2. Cited Here... | PubMed | CrossRef 27. Marsack JD, Parker KE, Applegate RA. Performance of wavefront-guided soft lenses in three keratoconus subjects. Optom Vis Sci 2008; 85: 1172–8. Cited Here... | PubMed 28. Guirao A, Williams DR, Cox IG. Effect of rotation and translation on the expected benefit of an ideal method to correct the eye's higher-order aberrations. J Opt Soc Am (A) 2001; 18: 1003–15. Cited Here... | PubMed | CrossRef 29. Chen M, Sabesan R, Ahmad K, Yoon G. Correcting anterior corneal aberration and variability of lens movements in keratoconic eyes with back-surface customized soft contact lenses. Opt Lett 2007; 32: 3203–5. Cited Here... | PubMed | CrossRef 30. Jeong TM, Menon M, Yoon G. Measurement of wave-front aberration in soft contact lenses by use of a Shack-Hartmann wave-front sensor. Appl Opt 2005; 44: 4523–7. Cited Here... | PubMed | CrossRef 31. Watson AB, Pelli DG. QUEST: a Bayesian adaptive psychometric method. Percept Psychophys 1983; 33: 113–20. Cited Here... | PubMed | CrossRef 32. Sabesan R, Zheleznyak L, Yoon G. Binocular visual performance and summation after correcting higher order aberrations. Biomed Opt Express 2012; 3: 3176–89. Cited Here... | PubMed 33. Visser ES, Visser R, Van Lier HJ. Advantages of toric scleral lenses. Optom Vis Sci 2006; 83: 233–6. Cited Here... | View Full Text | PubMed | CrossRef 34. Kosaki R, Maeda N, Bessho K, Hori Y, Nishida K, Suzaki A, Hirohara Y, Mihashi T, Fujikado T, Tano Y. Magnitude and orientation of Zernike terms in patients with keratoconus. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci 2007; 48: 3062–8. Cited Here... | PubMed | CrossRef 35. Sabesan R, Yoon G. Visual performance after correcting higher order aberrations in keratoconic eyes. J Vis 2009; 9: 1–10. Cited Here... 36. Mitchell DE, Freeman RD, Millodot M, Haegerstrom G. Meridional amblyopia: evidence for modification of the human visual system by early visual experience. Vision Res 1973; 13: 535–58. Cited Here... | PubMed | CrossRef 37. Rossi EA, Weiser P, Tarrant J, Roorda A. Visual performance in emmetropia and low myopia after correction of high-order aberrations. J Vis 2007; 7: 14. Cited Here... | PubMed | CrossRef Keywords:keratoconus; higher order aberrations; contact lens; Boston scleral lens; wavefront-guided treatment; visual acuity; contrast sensitivity; neural adaptation and plasticity © 2013 American Academy of Optometry Article Outline Abstract METHODS Subjects Design of SLPD with Wavefront-Guided Optics Optical and Visual Performance Evaluation RESULTS DISCUSSION ACKNOWLEDGMENTS REFERENCES Source Wavefront-Guided Scleral Lens Prosthetic Device for Keratoconus Optometry and Vision Science90(4):314-323, April 2013. Full-Size Email + Favorites Export View in Gallery Email to a Colleague Colleague's E-mail is Invalid Your Name: (optional) Your Email: Colleague's Email: Separate multiple e-mails with a (;). Message: Thought you might appreciate this item(s) I saw at Optometry and Vision Science. Send a copy to your email Your message has been successfully sent to your colleague. Some error has occurred while processing your request. Please try after some time. Email to a Colleague Colleague's E-mail is Invalid Your Name: (optional) Your Email: Colleague's Email: Separate multiple e-mails with a (;). Message: Thought you might appreciate this item(s) I saw at Optometry and Vision Science. Send a copy to your email Your message has been successfully sent to your colleague. Some error has occurred while processing your request. Please try after some time. Add Item(s) to: An Existing Folder A New Folder Folder Name: Description: The item(s) has been successfully added to "".


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A lone plastic drum sits in the shade of a tree in a corner of a south-side park.
In its better days, the drum, equipped with LED lights, displayed a rainbow of bright colors and played a variety of sounds, from classical music to Homer Simpson, when a person tapped any of the four metal pads on its top.
But someone ripped out wiring that makes the drum come to life.
The instrument, a public art sculpture called "Public Drums," was installed in 2008 in Ochoa Park, 211 W. 25th St.
Artist Joe O'Connell was commissioned by the city to make the piece for the park after neighbors became concerned about nefarious happenings after dark.
"What we heard from the residents is that people do drug deals there," O'Connell said. "They shoot out the lights."
He had a budget of $10,000.
The artist spent some time seeing who visited.
"I would just sort of hang out and watch and observe how kids would go and play in the park," O'Connell said.
Once, a "very scary man" approached O'Connell and asked him, "Are you here to push me on the swing?"
After his observations, O'Connell decided to design a piece made of bulletproof polycarbonate that incorporated light and sounds.
"It was the first complicated outdoor electronic thing I've ever done," he said.
O'Connell plans to repair the sculpture.
"Whenever I am alerted to a problem with anything I or my company have done, we always respond promptly," O'Connell said by email.
Got an oddity?
Is there something you've noticed while driving through Tucson that has piqued your curiosity? Or is there some piece of Old Pueblo history you've wondered about? Drop us a line, and we'll look into it.
Contact the Star newsroom at email@example.com or 807-7776.
Send suggestions for a Tucson Oddity to email@example.com or call 807-7776.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Overview (3)
|in Glendale, California, USA
|in Glendale, California, USA (kidney failure)
|Birth Name
|Gloria Maude Talbott
Mini Bio (1)
Gloria Talbott was born in the Los Angeles suburb of Glendale, a city co-founded by her grandfather. Growing up in the shadows of the Hollywood studios, her interests inevitably turned to acting, with the result that she participated in school plays and landed small parts in films such as "Maytime" (1937), "Sweet and Lowdown" (1943) and "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn" (1945). After leaving school, she started her own dramatic group and played "arena"-style shows at various clubs. After a three-year hiatus (marriage, motherhood and divorce), Talbott resumed her career, working extensively in both TV and films. Her sister is actress Lori Talbott.
- IMDb Mini Biography By: Tom Weaver <firstname.lastname@example.com>
Spouse (4)
|Patrick Mullally
|(27 April 1970 - 19 September 2000) (her death)
|Steven J. Capabianco
|(18 January 1967 - 1969) (divorced) (1 child)
|Sandy Sanders
|(27 June 1956 - 1965) (divorced)
|Gene Stanley Parrish
|(19 February 1949 - 1953) (divorced) (1 child)


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A lot of you may have already heard of the new talk of the town right now called ARIIX Slenderiix, which has led to some very unbelievable results and testimonies from many different types of people. It may be one of the most intriguing weight loss programs yet.
A mom who gained a lot of weight on her pregnancy lost twenty five pounds (25 lbs), but later on, as many of us do, she gained the 25 pounds back plus an additional five pounds! Can you believe that as soon as she started using the new ARIIX Slenderiix, she immediately lost twenty one pounds (21 lbs) in just eighteen days (18 days) without any rebound effects whatsoever! Some even lost eleven pounds (11 lbs) in just one week of using the products, with side effects such as smoother and healthier looking skin in a super fast and super efficient way. Some also even testified that they have already tried all humanly possible diets that they can think of like starvation diets, lemonade diets, cayenne diet, but not a single one of them worked…not until they got a hold of the ARIIX Slenderiix making some of them amazingly lose twenty five pounds (25 lbs) in thirty days (30 days). That is close to losing one pound a day!
Other people's cravings were also stopped as soon as they started drinking and using the ARIIX Slenderiix. Some even still lost a few pounds on areas like the lower abdomen even at the end of thirty days (30 days). The testimonies do not stop there, one even said that he fought really hard to lose weight and even stopped eating almost any food that existed just to lose weight but still nothing happened. He got hopeless and never thought that there was a chance for him to achieve his ideal weight until he got invited to become one of the beta testers for the ARIIX Slenderiix, which then made him lose twenty nine pounds (29 lbs) in thirty days (30 days).
There are still lots and lots of growing testimonials all proving the potency and effectiveness of the ARIIX Slenderiix in weight loss success, but there are already too many to mention. Despite the numerous testimonies, one can conclude that all these lead to one single point and that is the fact that the ARIIX Slenderiix truly does work!
So, how does the ARIIX Slenderiix work then? Let us start by first learning what a hypothalamus is and what it does. The hypothalamus is the one responsible for regulating metabolic rate, fat storage and deposits, pituitary gland, thyroid gland, and adrenals. What the ARIIX Slenderiix does is cause the hypothalamus to mobilize fat out of the fatty storage areas inside the body. By doing this, the ARIIX Slenderiix successfully causes the release of fat especially the fats deposited around the waistline, otherwise known as love handles.
Rest assured the ARIIX Slenderiix is just as safe as it is potent! Do not hesitate to contact us if you have questions regarding the product. But for now, all I know is that if you are not satisfied with your weight, then you should purchase your very own ARIIX Slenderiix now! Help yourself or other people you know quick because they are selling out like hotcakes! Don't miss this breakthrough for it may be the last.
As discussed earlier, L Theanine, in summary, is a naturally occurring substance that is commonly extracted from green tea. It is touted as an all around supplement that helps prevent anxiety and relaxes the mind and yet doesn't cause drowsiness. It also has immune boosting properties and lowers the blood pressure. It is a rare supplement, and an even rarer drug that can be said to have no proven negative side effects. Studies performed with L Theanine have established strong benefits but have been unable to show if this supplement has any negative side effects.
However, there might be some possible interactions when using L Theanine that can cause problems. So far, there is no research indicating that L Theanine is problematic when used with any pharmaceutical. L Theanine has been the subject of a 1995 rat study where groups of rats with high blood pressure were given this supplement/drug. The group of rats with high blood pressure had their blood pressure reduced with the supplement, and just as significantly, the same study indicated that the control group, rats with normal blood pressure, did not experience a drop in blood pressure when given L Theanine. However, individuals taking hypertensive drugs should probably consult a medical professional before using this supplement because although L Theanine doesn't seem to affect normal blood pressure, medications for hypertension may not be as selective. Combining a drug for hypertension with L Theanine might possibly produce unwanted side effects and thus consulting with a medical professional is what is most recommended.
L Theanine is also known for its relaxant properties. This effect is produced without the usual drowsiness that accompanies even natural relaxants. Generally, L Theanine is said to produce a relaxed but alert mental state with more Alpha Waves. However, if an individual is also taking sedatives or hypnotics their effect might be magnified. Depressants such as alcohol might also enhance that. Again, there are no studies that indicate this is a potential side effect but anyone taking hypnotics may wish to consult with a medical professional before adding L Theanine supplements. Individuals, who take medications that are intended to have a stimulant effect on the nervous system and which tend to make them jittery, may have that side effect reduced since L Theanine has a calming effect. Whether this is a negative side effect or not depends on the medication and purpose, but it is a possible interaction. No conclusive studies have been done in this area since feeling jittery or anxious is rarely considered a desirable state.
Although it is not possible to find conclusive evidence or even suggestive studies that L Theanine has negative side effects, every person is different and their reaction to any supplement can vary from time to time. As with any supplement, a medical professional's advice should really be sought before administering it to children or pregnant women. Some consideration should also be given as to possible interactions with prescription medications such as those used to treat high blood pressure or any medication intended to relax or calm an individual. In general, L Theanine is a naturally occurring supplement considered very safe and which can produce benefits with few side effects in the average human being.
Now we all know the wonderful benefits we can get from using LTheanine which is used to help treat stress, anxiety, insomnia, and help increase focus and attention. Although, L Theanine has been scientifically proven to work in these situations, there is however, no set L Theanine dosage as of yet. Every individual is different and every body system is also unique and different; so everyone should start with following the recommended direction on the ARIIX product's label. This will ensure safety, and users should not experience any side effects.
For focus and attention, various medical studies have been conducted with L Theanine. Study dosages ranged from 50mgs-200mgs. Studies have shown that even 50mgs is enough to improve attention and focus, however, a minimum dosage of 100mgs appears to be more ideal. If using L Theanine for focus and attention is your main use for the supplement, you may want to include caffeine into the mix as well. Although research shows L Theanine is effective for focus, attention, and alertness, combined with caffeine makes it considerably more effective. If you are one who doesn't like the effects that caffeine gives, even a small dosage will help greatly. Continue reading
Now that we have finished discussing L Theanine, which is found in the ARIIX Rejuveniix, let us now compare it to another similar nutritional supplement called Suntheanine. Suntheanine is a nutraceutical or otherwise known as a nutritional supplement which is natural. It is a branded version of L Theanine. If you have heard of green tea, which is known for its calming and de-stressing effects along with anti-oxidant properties, then you will recognize that the active ingredient which is beneficial in the green tea is L Theanine. Green tea has already been used numerous times in ancient Japan and is known for its holistic and positive effects. It actually promotes alpha waves in the brain. Otherwise these waves are present only after deep meditation.
Compared to L Theanine, Suntheanine also has its own set of benefits. It is relaxing, it is calming, without making you feel sleepy or drowsy, it decreases the side effects of ephedrine and caffeine, it reduces hypertension and sleep disturbances which are associated with high doses of caffeine. Continue reading


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Posters provide a cost-effective and logical way of delivering messages to a particular target market. When placed at the correct location, attractive and informative posters can deliver your message to a targeted audience and alert them of an upcoming product or service. Posters advertisement is cheaper than common forms of advertising such as radio and television.
When we need to run an effective print advertising campaign, we find that no other advertisement method can beat poster power!
For making posters marketing campaign more effective, you need to follow given below tips:
Identify Your Targeted Audience
First of all you need to decide your targeted audience? You should identify who is likely to buy your services or products. Your message, poster design, style and language of your poster should be focused to those you want to see it.
Whether you want to advertise outdoor, indoor or both, you need to think carefully about the location of the poster to display. If you've identified your target audience, now it's time to identify where do they go? Like any other advertising, a poster advertising campaign will generate more leads when seen by the right people, so make sure to display your posters where your targeted customers are likely to be.
Make It Simple
You may have a lot to say about your product, but never add long message on one poster else you will dilute your main message. People don't bother to stop and read a long paragraph of text. For poster advertisement, inside or outside, you should add a catchy message that grabs attention of the audience in a second.
Better by Design
The poster design must look professional, no matter whatever your product, event or service is. At KoolDesignMaker.com, we'll make your poster design look good and professional, but if the design doesn't attract you, you may call for revision. If you are planning for a poster design, you may check our portfolio to get some ideas.
At KoolDesignMaker.com, we offer 10 sizes of indoor and outdoor posters, from smallest 6 sheet adshels to our biggest 48 and 96 sheet billboard posters. For indoor use we have 10 more sizes from A4 and to 530mm x 1524mm. For more info, advice or quote and order your poster design and printing, contact our expert team at 1-888-786-7861 or visit KoolDesignMaker.com today!


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6629 Gunn Hwy, Tampa, FL 33625Request info Add to list
To view building contacts please sign in with your Pro account or create a pro account.
Kari G.
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Building Details:
6629 Gunn Hwy is aland property for lease in Tampa, FL.
Great Development Opportunity in the Heart of Citrus Park!
This parcel of land has the potential for a 200 to 250 unit apartment complex.
Currently zoned AS-1, this parcel is ideal for a land use change and zoning change to allow for multi-family development.
Just a few blocks from Citrus Mall with 700 feet of frontage on Gunn Hwy.
Citrus Park Village.
Located less than 1 mile from Westfield Center at Citrus Park.
Gunn Hwy and Veterans Expressway NE corner.
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- Ed Killmer, agent and Rofo Pro


text:
We invite you to read the following testimonial from one of our satisfied clients:
This advertising executive reflects on Gagnon Associates' consulting support to a critical and delicate organizational integration challenge:
Some time ago we asked for your help in re-chartering, aligning and mobilizing our newly-reorganized Ralph Lauren Advertising function here at Polo. It has been five months now since the last of the interventions you designed and conducted for the group in response to our request. I'm writing this to say that the progress we have seen in terms of collaboration and respect since then has been significant.
These two sessions – first for the entire department (60 people) and then for the leadership team (18) – had a variety of positive results. First, the newly formed department, undergoing a very difficult transition, was able to realize how important it was for us all to come together and help to fulfill our mission. Second, the senior team came away with a better understanding of how their individual areas relate and must work together in order for the agency to work. Third, the group saw the value in articulating issues and concerns in a positive way that encourages solutions rather than placing blame.
What you helped us accomplish is, of course, critical to us. But, just as important, I want to recognize that it was how you went about it that facilitated our success. As a creatively-driven company, it was very important for us to find a consultant who understood the nature of a creative environment and was able to work in a way that made both business-minded and artistically-minded people feel comfortable. You were clear in your objectives and in your delivery of information and you were highly effective at keeping the discussion on course, and managed to do all of that in a diplomatic way.
I would recommend you as a consultant for a variety of reasons, Ray, but all of this brings to mind what I find most distinctive and "recommendable" about you and your work. And here I'm speaking beyond the recent Advertising conferences to include other work we've done together. You are an extraordinary listener who not only hears what we tell you but who also processes it and uses it to inform everything you do for us. You never stray from your objective. You deliver what you promise. You offer perspective and recommendations with a combination of well-informed perspective, good instincts, experience, and candor.
Thanks for helping me and my team at a critical time. I look forward to working with you again.


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Some Succeed Because They Are Destined To, Most Succeed Because They Are Determined To.
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Last year we received calls regarding ongoing issue PLEASE READ CAREFULLY
Homeowners nationwide had been approached by individuals asking for UPFRONT fees in exchange for loan modification services.
Please read more here, and if you are a victim of this kind of scam
please contact you local FBI office.
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Results 1 to 7 of 7
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12-15-2004, 12:11 AM #1Inactive
- Join Date
- Oct 2004
- Location
- Houston, Texas
- Posts
- 38
Dog drags infant out of bed, kills her
One-month-old Kamryn Billingsley was sleeping next to her mother early Monday morning when a dog, a pit bull mix, grabbed the baby and killed her.
The child's mother, 19-year-old Samantha Billingsley, was visiting friends on 21st Avenue in the Shoreline Park community. She told police when it got late, they decided to spend the night.
Billingsley had the baby in bed with her when the unthinkable happened.
At first glance the little dog named Baby doesn't look like it would pose a danger to anyone. Baby is a one year old pit bull mix.
Sheriff Steve Garber says the animal attacked a baby girl as she slept.
"Basically the dog got up on the bed, grabbed the baby by the head, and took the baby out of the bed and drug it down the hall, slinging it around," Garber said.
The attack happened in the middle of the night. Family and friends stood outside in shock telling investigators what happened.
"The mother felt around and did not feel the baby, so she jumped up at that time. That's when she found a blood trail going down the hall. She followed the blood trail and that's where she found her baby."
21 year old Garrard Marquar is the dog's owner. Friends say it usually stays outside, but since it was cold, they brought the dog in.
Why no one heard the attack is a mystery to investigators.
"I guess being about 1:30 in the morning, they must have been in a dead sleep. I would like to think that the baby would have cried out or something. But keep in mind to the dog, this could have been like a play toy," Garber said.
Sheriff's officials are still investigating whether anyone will be charged in the case.
The dog was put down at the Waveland Animal Shelter Monday afternoon. His owner told authorities the dog was given to him when it was a puppy. Sheriff's investigators are trying to contact the previous owner of the dog to see if he had been trained to fight.
12-15-2004, 01:37 AM #2Former member
- Join Date
- Aug 2003
- Posts
- 3,521
You know, I've thought about this. I'm DISGUSTED when I hear another child dead by an animal. HOWEVER, my Grandmother told me one time that she found my mother blue and not breathing when she found the cat laying on her. Whether the cat was jealous OR trying to kill her, I don't know. OBVIOUSLY she survived.
My grandmother never had animals in the home ever again after that though. Instinct???? I don't know.
12-15-2004, 10:37 AM #3Former Member
- Join Date
- Jun 2004
- Posts
- 4,218
Knowing there was an animal in the house, you'd thin kmom woudl have shut the bedroom door so that the dog could not come in there...
That poor little baby - oh how she must have suffered...
12-15-2004, 12:04 PM #4Originally Posted by lisag
A one year old pit is still basically a puppy; she may not have been afraid of it. I've been around several and as puppies they are usually very friendly and very playful.
These dogs have an inborn instinct to fight other animals, but to "increase" that fighting instinct, I've heard that some breeders feed LEAD to the mother dog while she is pregnant.
12-15-2004, 03:30 PM #5Former Member
Originally Posted by kgeaux
- Join Date
- Jun 2004
- Posts
- 4,218
12-15-2004, 03:53 PM #6Registered User
- Join Date
- Aug 2003
- Location
- New Mexico
- Posts
- 5,940
I cant place blame or fault on this mother. It was a tragic event, but no parent can think of every possible scenario that can go wrong.
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Around The Dial – July 13, 2011
Economic policy reports, blog postings, and media stories of interest:
- The New York Times reports on the state of vocational education.
- The News & Observer profiles Todd Cohen of Philanthropy Journal.
- Nancy Folbe fears "job-oblivious politicians."
- The National Skills Coalition wraps up a Senate hearing on Trade Adjustment Assistance.
- Calculated Risk thinks about how many jobs are needed to hold unemployment steady.


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Although there have been positive signs of recovery in our economy, there's still lots of opportunities to find bad news. Pick up any newspaper, tune in to any 24 hour news channel, or visit any news website and you'll see the proof of that staring you in the face. That's the way a lot of people start their day. It's no wonder our team members come to work and focus on complaining about what's wrong.
It would be easy to become consumed with the bad news and let it determine your path forward. But, as the team leader, it's your responsibility to keep your team members moving in the right direction and provide a good dose of motivation to help them achieve team goals.
A good way to do that is to get the team together to talk about what good news has happened — either driven by your team or your organization. Considering this approach to building your team can help move them to higher performance, but you'll have to make sure it doesn't get turned into a complaint session which can easily happen with one simple, "Yes, but."
You'll need a structured process to help guide your team. You'll want to make it clear that the session is to identify what's going right so the team can build on it. Set some ground rules to guide the behavior of the meeting for a greater chance of success.
So what process should you use for this session? I recommend using an Appreciative Inquiry (AI) process. Using AI you will place your focus on improving your team by leveraging their strengths rather than their weaknesses. It's a process that helps you focus on what's working well so you can build on that success. Getting people talking about what's going well is very inspiring and can help the team move forward quickly.
The AI process is pretty simple. In your meeting, you will:
- Define what's going right.
- Determine which "right things" your team can beef up.
- Create an action plan to move forward.
Quite a different approach, huh? With AI, you look at "What's working well around here?" So how do you guide your team building discussion? I like the way Sue Annis Hammond defines assumptions in her book the Thin Book of Appreciative Inquiry which will help guide your discussion. They are:
- In every society, organization, or group, something works.
- What we focus on becomes our reality.
- Reality is created in the moment, and there are multiple realities.
- The act of asking questions of an organization or group influences the group in some way.
- People have more confidence and comfort to journey to the future (the unknown) when they carry forward parts of the past (the known).
- If we carry parts of the past forward, they should be what is best about the past.
- It is important to value differences.
- The language we use creates our reality.
Set up your meeting at the outset by using these assumptions as your guide. Brainstorm what's going right — I bet you and your team will be surprised by how many things they can come up with once they get rolling. Look at your list of items, consolidate and decide which you can leverage for even greater success. Define an action plan of steps to take and get to work! Don't forget to set a check in date so you can keep track of how things are going.
Have you ever used the appreciative inquiry process with your team? What did you think about it? Please share in the comments.Posted in People Management | Tagged appreciative inquiry, positive leadership, team process


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Accommodation Thailand Koh Chang Elephant Bay Resort Your Review
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Be fair in your review and think of what potential guests might like to know that isn't already explained.
Elephant Bay Resort (EBR) is located south-west on the island of Koh Chang, in Bailan Bay. This little paradise was previously known as Gu Bay Resort (Gu's Bay).


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Reader! I've been neglecting you. It wasn't intentional, I promise. You see, I've been in San Antonio, TX for the past several days at a conference for work, and I sadly didn't get myself organized enough to have posts ready before I left. I guess I naively thought I would have some spare time while I was there to whip something together – I already had the photographs from the recipes I made last weekend – but I barely had any spare time! None, actually, except to sleep and even that was scarce!
So my apologies as the blog has been a bit of a ghost town this week. I have some delicious recipes all ready to share now that I'm home and can catch my breath, but first I would like to say that San Antonio was a lovely town. We checked out the Alamo (obviously), and the River Walk is so pretty! For those unfamiliar (as I was until three days ago) the river that runs through downtown has picturesque pathways on either side that are lined with bars and restaurants. We got lost a number of times, but at least the scenery was interesting while we wandered aimlessly.
On to today's recipe. I need to give a shout out to my husband, who basically made this entire recipe while I photographed it (and ate it, of course). He is in charge of the barbecue, and this is a recipe we probably make about once a week all summer. It's perfect for fast, casual weeknight dinners: while he is in the backyard tending to the grill, all I have to do is make a salad and crack open a bottle of wine and dinner is ready in no time flat.
My husband has never been a fish lover. In fact, when we first started dating, he wouldn't eat any fish at all because he said it tasted "too fishy." I see what he means, since most fish we get here has been frozen at some point in its journey from the sea, which results in a slightly fishier flavour than fresher fish. However, trips to places like Maui and Vancouver helped us realize that he actually loves fresh fish (hooray!) so I can now sneak some high-quality semi-local seafood into our diet. He still doesn't like the smell of cooking fish in the house, which led us to the barbecue and eventually to the beloved cedar plank.
You can buy cedar planks at fish markets and some grocery stores, but don't do it if you can help it! They tend to be expensive, and all we do is go to the lumber store (a la Home Depot or its equivalent) and buy a couple of 1×6-inch boards (or a similar size) that we bring home and cut into shorter lengths with a saw. I think you could probably even get the lumber guys to cut yours down if you don't have access to power tools. This way, we spend barely anything at all and get enough planks in one trip to last us all summer.
Smoking salmon (or trout) on the barbecue is so simple! There are just a few tricks to learn and you'll be an expert in no time. For instance, make sure you soak your plank for at least two hours before you plan to use it; this will prevent it from burning up completely when it hits the grill. We will often stick the plank in the sink in the morning and let it soak all day.
Note that the output from this recipe will be a piece of cooked salmon fillet that has been infused with rich, smoky flavour, and won't result in the thinly-sliced smoked salmon like you might find on a brunch table or in a deli with a bagel and cream cheese. It's simply a nice flavour alternative to regular barbecued salmon, and the recipe I've shared below helps keep the fish incredibly moist and tender.
Wow, this is a long post! I guess I have a lot to say today. I'll wrap things up so you can get back to your day, but with one final tip. The sugar-spice rub I've listed below melts into the fish as it cooks, creating an almost candied top to the fish. We love the simplicity of the brown sugar, salt, and pepper, with just a hint of heat from the pinch of chili flakes. If that doesn't appeal to you, or you have a favourite salmon rub, feel free to use the smoking technique but customize the flavour to suit your taste. Also, the curing step is optional, but we've found it makes the fish stay even more moist and juicy. Just make sure you rinse off the salt really well and pat the fillet dry.
Alright I'm stopping. Yikes, some days I stare at the screen and can't think of two words to string together; today I am suffering from the opposite affliction! I should get out of town more often. 😉
- 1 cedar plank, approximately 18 inches long (cut from a 1x6-inch board)
- ½ cup coarse sea salt
- 500 g (about 1.1 lb.) salmon fillet (steelhead trout works too), skin on
- 3 tablespoons brown sugar
- ½ teaspoon coarse salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- Pinch red pepper flakes (optional)
- Soak plank in water for at least 2 hours, ideally for 8 hours or more. The longer the better!
- To cure the salmon, cover flesh side of the fillet completely with the coarse sea salt and set aside to cure for 20 minutes. Rinse well, discarding salt, and pat fillet dry. Slice the fillet into four equal pieces, cutting through the flesh of the fish but not the skin (this is optional, but it makes serving a lot easier!).
- In a small bowl, combine brown sugar, salt, black pepper and red pepper flakes. Sprinkle mixture evenly over salmon fillet, covering completely. You may have extra rub left over; discard extras or reserve for another use.
- Preheat barbecue to medium heat. Place soaked plank over direct medium and close the BBQ lid. The plank will begin to smoke and char after about 5-10 minutes.
- Turn the plank over and lay the prepared fillet on the smoked/charred side of the plank. Close the BBQ lid and let the salmon cook until the salmon is cooked and the rub has melted into the surface, about 15-20 minutes. Try not to open the lid too often, as that will allow the smoke to escape. Note that cook time may vary based on the thickness of the fillet. Serve immediately.


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These are websites I find useful
CSIRO – Australia's national research organisation, my review
Online games and programmes
Fisher Price online learning games, my review
Life and Living
AQWA – The Aquarium of WA, my review
Earth and Beyond
Science or Skeptical Information for Adults
New Scientist – the contents of the magazine plus more. This is possibly the best general science magazine for lay people in the world. Subscribers also have access to the complete archives.
She Thought – Women. Thinking Critically. A skeptical blog with mainly female contributors (including me!). All types of questions about our society and thinking rationally.
Science-Based Medicine – a group blog by doctors from many different fields. There are a lot of posts on vaccines, quackery and woo, but also discussions of new research findings.
Respectful Insolence also known as 'Orac Knows,' by one of the same authors as Science-Based Medicine. Not for the faint hearted he can be blistering against quacks, but very up to date and excellent explanations of how science and medicine work.
Science Blogs – there are far too many here to discuss individually, across all sorts of areas.
Young Australian Skeptics – a sanctuary for young free thinkers.
Australian Skeptics – Investigating pseudoscience and the paranormal from a responsible scientific viewpoint.
The Skeptic's Book of Pooh Pooh – A skeptical blog by Maggie (a pseudonym) a Sydney cell biologist, winner of the Shorty Award for Health (on Twitter).
PodBlack Cat – Another skeptical blog, but this time by a woman. There are women in all the group blogs, but male skeptics and scientists do tend to be more vocal.
Homologous Legs – the blog of Naon Tiotami (aka. Jack Scanlan), an Australian undergraduate biology student who has a serious problem with creationists and intelligent-design proponents.
Leave a Comment


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Um… Are you following me?
"When should I get an astrology reading?"
When you need help navigating your life's confusing and bumpy moments
Every year on your birthday – to determine the theme of the upcoming year. This kind of reading gives you insights and planning tools for the year ahead.
When you want an overview of your life's gifts and challenges, and how your past, present and future all fit together. No need to go through a crisis alone!
When you feel pressured to make a decision that is in your best interest
Praise from clients…
Fabienne gave me an insightful and learned astrology reading that I still reference today month's later. Her down-to-earth communication style and her deep understanding of both astrology and life changes served to give me a sense of safety and confidence. Thanks Fabienne!" Beth B., Author and Book Consultant
"Fabienne coach approach to astrology leaves me with useful direction and positive ways to behave, which have served me well. She's thorough, clear, and sends you a CD in the mail the next day!" Helen S., Business Owner
Astrology Blogroll
Non Astrology Blogroll
Tag Archives: Mercury
7 Sins of Dating – Envy
Nothing can kill a budding relationship faster than one of these seven dating mistakes. Check out if you are guilty of one of them. Part 3 of 7 part series. Continue reading
Mercury in Earth Signs: "That makes sense!"
In Earth signs, Mercury's thoughts are influenced a practical need to connect the dots.The person's mind operates in analytical, pragmatic ways.
Continue reading
Mercury in Fire Signs: "I get what you are saying"
Mercury in fire signs (Aries, Leo, and Sagittarius) are people that need first-hand experience to learn. The information needs to connect thought with action. Continue reading
Mercury in Water signs: "That feels right!"
In water signs, Mercury indicates a mode of communication where feelings strongly influence the thought process and reveals the person's deepest yearnings. Continue reading
Mercury in Air Signs: "I Love that Idea!"
In each element, Mercury displays a particular "logic", an unique effectiveness in communicating ideas & desires to others & a way of expressing thoughts.
Continue reading
Planets in the Elements – Part 2
Part 2 of our look at planets in the elements and what it says about our approach to life. This post focuses on Sun, Jupiter and Saturn. Continue reading
Planets in the Elements – Part 1
We seldom think of the planets in terms of elements. However, looking at the planet distribution in the elements can give clues as to how we approach life.
Continue reading
Mercury Retrograde in Aries: Practicing Radical Honesty
Mercury retrograde in Aries is learning to be your own advocate and speaking up your mind successfully. For that you need a conversation strategy. Do you have one? Continue reading
April 2011 Sky Pile Up: The Upcoming Aries Stellium
What the upcoming April 2011 stellium of planets will mean for your individual chart. Continue reading
The 7 Most Common Relationship Problems: Lost in Translation
An astrological look at the communication problems faced by couples with difficult Saturn and Mercury inter-chart aspects. Continue reading


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More rewrites. For 3.1 and 3.2, these include special notes that hopefully do a better job of limiting the scope of the relative priority checkpoints: 3.1 Prompt the author to provide equivalent alternative information for non-text content. [Limited Relative Priority (see Note)] Note: Limited Relative Priority: WCAG 1.0 Checkpoints referring to alternative information for non-text objects are [refs here] Rationale: The inclusion of alternative information (alternative text, captions, auditory descriptions, collated text transcripts for video, etc.) for non-text content is critical to accessibility. Therefore, a special effort is required, from authoring tools, to collect this information. Minimum functionality: A method for adding alternative information, appropriate to the author-tool interaction, must be provided to the author whenever a non-text object (see Note) has been inserted. Optional advanced functionality: Provide special authoring facilities that automate some of the process of generating alternative information (e.g. voice recognition to produce collated text transcripts). See also: Techniques for checkpoint 3.1 --- 3.2 Help the author create structured content and separate information from its presentation. [Limited Relative Priority (see Note)] Note: Limited Relative Priority: WCAG 1.0 Checkpoints referring to the separation of content from structure are [refs here] Rationale: The separation of information from presentation is important to accessibility. Minimum functionality: For markup languages that support presentation by styling, use and encourage the use of styling by default. Discourage the use of deprecated presentation elements and attributes. See also: Techniques for checkpoint 3.2 --- 3.3 Do not automatically generate equivalent alternatives or reuse previously authored alternatives without author confirmation, except when the function is known with certainty. [Priority 1] Rationale: Improperly generated alternatives can interfere with accessibility checking. Minimum functionality: Usually, when a new object is inserted, the function is unknown, so the tool should prompt the author to enter an appropriate equivalent alternative without providing a generated default entry (e.g. the file name and size). However, alternatives may be automatically generated or re-used when the tool has either placed the object for a specific purpose (e.g. navigation bar) or the user has defined a purpose for the object. Only an alternative that has been explicitly associated with an object may be offered as a default entry for the author to approve. See also: Checkpoint 1.4 and checkpoint 3.4, Techniques for checkpoint 3.3 --- 3.4 Provide functionality for managing, editing, and reusing alternative equivalents for multimedia objects. [Priority 3] Rationale: Compliance with checkpoint 3.3 may be simplified by providing an alternative equivalent management system. Minimum functionality: Store associations between multimedia objects (images, sounds, movies) and alternatives (alternative text, long descriptions, text transcripts) created by the author, allowing the author to edit the alternatives and reuse them easily. Optional advanced functionality: Collect alternatives from a variety of sources (the author, prepackaged, the Web) and provide powerful tools for managing the associations, including search functions and object similarity estimates. See also: Techniques for checkpoint 3.4 -- Cheers, Jan /\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\ Jan Richards Adaptive Technology Resource Centre (ATRC) University of Toronto email@example.com Tel: (416) 946-7060 Fax: (416) 971-2896 /\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\Received on Monday, 25 June 2001 10:56:38 UTC
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.3.1 : Tuesday, 6 January 2015 21:39:46 UTC


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Sun Devil Cross Country Honors Team Members at Annual Banquet
Dec. 9, 2006
TEMPE, Ariz. - Student-athletes, parents, coaches and support staff of the Arizona State University cross country program gathered at the Old Main Building on campus Saturday night to celebrate the 2006 season with Head Coach Louie Quintana handing out several individual honors to members of the team followed by a slide show presentation compiled by several of the Sun Devil runners.
The awards opened with Cassie Rios and David Mehlhorn earning the Coaches Award. Rios had a breakout season for the Sun Devils as she consistently ran in the Top 2 on the team and earned First Team All-Pac-10 after placing fifth at the conference meet. A junior, Rios earned All-West Region honors after finishing 12th in Portland before placing 102nd at the NCAA Championships.
Mehlhorn continued to improve for the team throughout the season and eventually worked his way into the Top 7 as he placed 61st in the Pac-10 meet. He capped his season with a 120th-place showing at the regional race. He had the best finish of his season at the ASU Invitational where he captured seventh place.
The Most Improved Awards were given to Ali Kielty and David Gott. Kielty completed her first season with the team after redshirting one year ago and ran in the Top 7 all season. After finishing 30th at the Roy Griak and 51st at the Pre-National race, Kielty was the first freshman to finish at the Pac-10 Championships, placing 13th overall and earning Pac-10 Newcomer of the Year honors. She then earned all-region accolades by placing 21st at the meet before finishing 68th in her first national race.
Gott did his part to help the men where he could and finished 59th at the Pac-10 Championships, his first conference competition. Earlier in the season, Gott placed 11th at the George Kyte Invitational and added a pair of Top 20 runs later on as he was 18th at the Dave Murray Invitational and 16th at the ASU Invitational.
The Newcomer of the Year honors went to true freshman Kari Hardt and junior Kyle Alcorn, who finished his first season with the program after transferring in from Oregon. Hardt, one of the more decorated high school athletes in the history of the state of Arizona, started strong by finishing fourth at the Dave Murray Invitational and 61st at the Roy Griak. After taking a few weeks off, Hardt came back and continued to compete, placing 21st at the Pac-10 Championships, the highest finish of any true freshman. She also earned all-region honors by placing 25th before taking 88th-place at the NCAA Championships.
Alcorn was the second runner on the team all season after sitting the entire 2005 season due to Pac-10 transfer rules. He opened the year with a fourth-place showing at the Dave Murray Invitational and placed 12th overall at the Roy Griak Invitational before finishing 29th at the Pre-National race. Alcorn earned all-conference accolades as he placed 10th at the Pac-10 meet before ending the season with a 62nd-place run at the regional meet.
The Most Valuable Awards were handed to Jenna Kingma and Aaron Aguayo after both did their part in leading their respective teams in 2006. Kingma was the top female finisher for the Sun Devils in five of the team's six races, including a 60th-place finish at the NCAA Championships where the team placed 13th overall. Kingma earned All-Pac-10 and All-West Region accolades as she placed 10th at the conference meet and ninth at the regional race.
Aguayo capped perhaps the most successful cross country career for a Sun Devil male as he placed ninth at the NCAA Championships, marking the highest national finish for an ASU male and the second-highest ever in the program behind Lisa Aguilera's fifth-place showing in 2000. Aguayo was the top finisher in all six he races he ran, taking fourth place at the Pac-10 Championships to earn first team all-conference honors before taking runner-up honors at the NCAA West Region Championships where he earned all-region accolades as well. His national finish earned his second All-America honor, making him just the second Sun Devil male to earn multiple national honors in a career.
TOMORROW | 7:30pm PTLive
Airing on:
- Pac-12 Network
- Pac-12 Los Angeles
Basketball Pre-Game ShowThu 2/22 | 5:30pm PTLive
Thu 2/22 | 6:00pm PTLive
Airing on:
- Pac-12 Network
- Pac-12 Bay Area
- Pac-12 Washington


text: Eclipse Community Forums - RDF feed https://www.eclipse.org/forums/ Eclipse Community Forums What is your 2013 environment configuration for an RCP project development? https://www.eclipse.org/forums/index.php/mv/msg/457889/1016291/#msg_1016291 I've been working since 4 years on a new RCP product dedicated to the industrial automation world. It is a global packaged software including PLC standard graphical and textual programming languages (in respect to the IEC-1131-6 norm), the configuration and diagnose of PLCs, HMI svg based editor, real-time and historical servers and much more. The company decided to follow the agile process one year ago. In order to improve the old-fashioned release-management we had, I finally had the chance to install useful tools to improve the product's life cycle management. I'm interested in sharing the choices I've made with others in order to provide the best environment for the release of an RCP. Server: OpenSuse 12.2 xenified virtual machine, 12GB RAM, 100 GB of disk space. Agile management software: Icescrum at the moment for the scrum follow-up but switching on Jira+GrassHooper Versioning system: SVN but now migrating to Git (planning to follow this branching model) Issue tracking system: Trac but integrating Jira+GreenHopper Continuous Integration: Jenkins+Tycho Project management and automated builds: Maven2 Repository server management: Sonatype Nexus Testing: Jubula+JUnit Java: 1.7 Eclipse version: Juno but still using e3 Once everything rolling, I will focus on migrating to e4 and then finally contact Eclipse Foundation to go open-source. I know this post might not be exactly in the appropriated forum but I did not find another one that would correspond. What environment are you using? This will depend of course of the project size and the number of developers. Our context is a SME with for the moment 4 developers active on the projects and hoping to have more. ]]> Tanguy Mezzano 2013-03-05T21:05:16-00:00 Re: What is your 2013 environment configuration for an RCP project development? https://www.eclipse.org/forums/index.php/mv/msg/457889/1016493/#msg_1016493 Sopot Cela 2013-03-06T16:45:49-00:00 Re: What is your 2013 environment configuration for an RCP project development? https://www.eclipse.org/forums/index.php/mv/msg/457889/1018228/#msg_1018228 Best regards.]]> Tanguy Mezzano 2013-03-13T12:56:27-00:00 Re: What is your 2013 environment configuration for an RCP project development? https://www.eclipse.org/forums/index.php/mv/msg/457889/1021047/#msg_1021047 ]]> Jessica Pinto 2013-03-19T12:37:52-00:00 Re: What is your 2013 environment configuration for an RCP project development? https://www.eclipse.org/forums/index.php/mv/msg/457889/1021055/#msg_1021055 We really had to improve communication in the company and avoid an old-fashioned waterfall methodology for our new informatic projects. We are still seeking the right tools that will fit for our way of working and try to promote them correclty so that all employees use them. In order to avoid redeveloping the same thing in different projects, we recently reorganized the company and put into place new young team leaders with teams that regroup developers with the same skills. (Of course developers can be part of other teams, and team leaders are as well developers). Next month, we will start the KANBAN method and see how it goes. Regards,]]> Tanguy Mezzano 2013-03-19T12:54:55-00:00


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About the PYP Board of Directors
The Pittsburgh Young Professionals is governed by a board of directors comprised of volunteer members. The board sets the yearly budgets, ensures that committee's objectives are completed, and strategically drives the mission of the organization. This highly coveted leadership position requires impressive professional achievements, community involvement, attendance at monthly board meetings and PYP events, and the responsibility to advise PYP Committee Chairs. As a developing young professional, serving on a non-profit board such as PYP is an integral step for many previous and current board members, to establish themselves as a community leader. Interested in becoming a board member? Fill out an application to become a Pittsburgh Young Professionals Board Member!
Members of the 2018 Pittsburgh Young Professionals Board of Directors


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- Description
With the Robby Bathing Support, children are always ideally positioned and supported even during daily baths. Robby adapts to the body proportions of the child as well as possible. The trough-shaped net upholstery, which can easily be tightened using a hook-and-loop closure, ensures good side guidance and a deep pelvis position. This keeps the hip bent, prevents overextension, and achieves optimal relaxation of the child.
The bathing support can be adjusted to the individual requirements of the child. For example, parents can set various seating and lying down positions using the continuous ratchet joints. The head, back, seat, and lower leg support areas can be adapted separately. If required, Robby can be equipped with adjustable head support pads and belt systems for better positioning and therefore offers optimal support for various clinical pictures.
Robby also means significant everyday relief for parents. Washing hair is made easier by the removable head section. In addition, Robby is light, can be folded to a convenient size, and requires little bath water due to its low structural height. Thanks to the telescoping tubes, the bathing support grows in back height and seating depth so that Robby can be used over a long period of time. Can be used with Quicklift II.
- Various sitting and lying positions are adjustable
- Optimal adaptation
- Good side guidance
- Deep pelvis position
- Effective relief for parents
- 5 year Warranty
For health reasons we are unable to accept returns or exchanges of hygiene products.
- Specs
SKU# RobbyBathingSupport
Robby Bathing Support Specifications:
Use this Dimensions Chart to help you make the right choice for your child.
Size 1
Size 2
Back Length
24.8" - 28.3"
35" - 37"
Width 14.2" 15" Seat depth 7.9" - 9.4" 12.2" - 16.9" Total Length
45.3" - 52.4" 57.9" - 68.1" Backrest Height
25" - 28.3" 35" - 37" Weight Capacity
66.1 lbs
132.2 lbs.
8 lbs. 9.5 lbs.
- Info
Additional InformationFor health reasons we are unable to accept returns or exchanges of hygiene products.
- Videos
VideosThere are no videos available.
- Reviews


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The special election to replace corrupt State Senator Carl Kruger is getting underway, and GOP candidate David Storobin is ramping up his advertising efforts. Sheepshead Bites notes "[c]ampaign posters for Republican underdog David Storobin's State Senate campaign have popped up all over the neighborhood in the past week.
Additionally, a reader who lives relatively far outside of the special election district noted that she was seeing advertisements for Mr. Storobin's Facebook page.
The media moves represent Mr. Storobin looking to lock down as much of the vote as possible in these early stage of the March 20th special election. The campaign posters themselves, with "Business Owner … Shares Your Values" featured as the leading text, also reveal the candidate's campaign messaging will emphasize a small business angle.
The only reported advertising so far on behalf of the Democratic candidate, Councilman Lew Fidler, was a newspaper ad purchased before Mr. Kruger pleaded guilty to federal corruption charges and resigned in disgrace.


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Tori & Dean Inn Love
If you have ever thought about running your own Bed and Breakfast, well now is your chance to see how it can be done. The new reality show - Tori & Dean Inn Love will start airing tonight, and every following Tuesday at 10:30/9:30c on the Oxygen Channel. The first episode features the yard sale they held to help fund Chateau La Rue.
I have to admit the B&B looks great and is decorated with some major glam! And if you are interested in staying at Chateau La Rue, they are now taking reservations.
If you catch the show this evening, let us know what you think!


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Lists what's at the Major League level, and then rounds up some players who could be at each stop along the way.Inside the Reds' front office, they keep a chart of the years major leaguers are under contract and when to expect the minor leaguers to be ready to contribute at that level.
What follows is an organizational depth chart showing, position by position, not only where the Reds are at the major-league level, but who they have coming through the ranks. The organization reports reflect not necessarily where prospects will start the season, but where the Reds feel those players will see the bulk of their time in 2014.
The Enquirer enlisted the help of Jason Parks, the national prospect/player development writer for Baseball Prospectus, to evaluate the overall quality of the prospects at each position. Baseball scouts use a 20-80 scale – sometimes shortened to 2-8, as we've done here – in evaluating talent. Five represents major-league average.
CF:The bottom line
(6) Plus. Winker can really hit and should develop into a very solid corner player at the highest level.
(7) Plus-plus. Hamilton is a rookie of the year candidate; Ervin can play the position if he can stay healthy; good depth throughout the system.
(6) Plus. Several impact types at the position.