da|ra

@type: Organization

description: Registration agency for social science and economic data

@type: Dataset

name: Treatment Episode Data Set -- Discharges (TEDS-D) -- Concatenated, 2006 to 2011

name: Treatment Episode Data Set - Discharges (TEDS-D) Series

name: ICPSR - Interuniversity Consortium for Political and Social Research

English

@type: Language

@type: PropertyValue

propertyID: ICPSR Study Number

propertyID: da|ra

keywords:
alcohol abuse
drug abuse
drug treatment
health care services
health insurance
intervention
mental health
substance abuse
substance abuse treatment
treatment programs

@type: Place

United States

@type: PostalAddress

description: The Treatment Episode Data Set -- Discharges (TEDS-D) is a national census data system of annual discharges from substance abuse treatment facilities. TEDS-D provides annual data on the number and characteristics of persons discharged from public and private substance abuse treatment programs that receive public funding. Data collected both at admission and at discharge is included. The unit of analysis is a treatment discharge. TEDS-D consists of data reported to state substance abuse agencies by the treatment programs, which in turn report it to SAMHSA. A sister data system, called the Treatment Episode Data Set -- Admissions (TEDS-A), collects data on admissions to substance abuse treatment facilities. The first year of TEDS-A data is 1992, while the first year of TEDS-D is 2006. TEDS-D variables that are required to be reported are called the "Minimum Data Set (MDS)", while those that are optional are called the "Supplemental Data Set (SuDS)". Variables unique to TEDS-D, and not part of TEDS-A, are the length of stay, reason for leaving treatment, and service setting at time of discharge. TEDS-D also provides many of the same variables that exist in TEDS-A. This includes information on service setting, number of prior treatments, primary source of referral, gender, race, ethnicity, education, employment status, substance(s) abused, route of administration, frequency of use, age at first use, and whether methadone was prescribed in treatment. Supplemental variables include: diagnosis codes, presence of psychiatric problems, living arrangements, source of income, health insurance, expected source of payment, pregnancy and veteran status, marital status, detailed not in labor force codes, detailed criminal justice referral codes, days waiting to enter treatment, and the number of arrests in the 30 days prior to admissions (starting in 2008). Substances abused include alcohol, cocaine and crack, marijuana and hashish, heroin, nonprescription methadone, other opiates and synthetics, PCP, other hallucinogens, methamphetamine, other amphetamines, other stimulants, benzodiazepines, other non-benzodiazepine tranquilizers, barbiturates, other non-barbiturate sedatives or hypnotics, inhalants, over-the-counter medications, and other substances. Created variables include total number of substances reported, intravenous drug use (IDU), and flags for any mention of specific substances.

description: ICPSR data undergo a confidentiality review and are altered when necessary to limit the risk of disclosure. ICPSR also routinely creates ready-to-go data files along with setups in the major statistical software formats as well as standard codebooks to accompany the data. In addition to these procedures, ICPSR performed the following processing steps for this data collection: Performed consistency checks.; Created variable labels and/or value labels.; Standardized missing values.; Created online analysis version with question text.; Performed recodes and/or calculated derived variables.; Checked for undocumented or out-of-range codes..

description:
record abstracts

Several limitations to the data exist and should be noted: The TEDS system is admission-based, and therefore TEDS admissions and discharges do not represent individuals. For example, an individual admitted to and discharged from treatment twice within a calendar year would be counted as two admissions and two discharges.; The data provide information on treatment in specific service types, derived from linked pairs of admission/discharge records. The data do not necessarily represent complete treatment episodes, which may include stays in multiple types of service and would require analysis of series of linked pairs of records.; The primary, secondary, and tertiary substances of abuse reported to the TEDS are those substances that led to the treatment episode, and not necessarily a complete enumeration of all drugs used at the time of admission.; The way an admission is defined may vary from state to state such that the absolute number of admissions is not a valid measure for comparing states.; States continually review the quality of their data processing. As systematic errors are identified, revisions may be enacted in historical TEDS data files. While this process improves the data set over time, reported historical statistics may change slightly from year to year.; States vary in the extent to which coercion plays a role in referral to treatment. This variation derives from criminal justice practices and differing concentrations of abuser subpopulations.; Public funding constraints may direct states to selectively target special populations, for example, pregnant women or adolescents.; Some states have no Opioid Treatment Programs (OTPs) that provide medication-assisted therapy using methadone and/or buprenorphine.;

Beginning with data released or re-released in 2012, a change was made to the data beginning with 2008. A new variable reports the number of times, if any, that a client was arrested in the 30 days preceding his or her admission into treatment. The variable is not present on any files prior to 2008.

Beginning with data released or re-released in 2012, changes were made to the full TEDS series going back to 2006. The changes consisted of the following: The recoding scheme of the variable DENTLF (Detailed Not in Labor Force Category) was changed. The cases for "Inmate of Institution" have been separated from "Other" and are now a standalone category.; The recoding scheme of the variable DETCRIM (Detailed Criminal Justice Referral) was changed. The cases for "Prison" have been separated from "Probation/Parole" and are now a standalone category. The same was done for the cases for "Diversionary Program" which were previously combined with "Other". But the cases for "Other Recognized Legal Entity" previously combined with "State/Federal Court, Other Court" have now been combined with the "Other" category.;

The categories and codes in this public-use file differ somewhat from those used by SAMHSA and those found in the TEDS Crosswalks and in other reports. This is a result of the recoding that was performed to protect client privacy in creating the public-use file.

To further protect respondent and provider privacy, all Behavioral Health Services Information System (BHSIS) unique identification numbers have been removed from the public-use data. Therefore, no linkages are possible between the TEDS and the National Survey of Substance Abuse Treatment Services (N-SSATS) public-use files.

Users should consult the TEDS Crosswalks for a breakdown of the data collected in each state and their corresponding TEDS codes, including state-by-state descriptions of exceptions or anomalies in reporting practices.

The data were collected from the states by Synectics for Management Decisions, Incorporated, on behalf of SAMHSA.

The 2011 public-use file was created using the most current data from October 2013 (the October 17, 2013 extract). The 2010 public-use file was created using the most current data from October 2012 (the October 15, 2012 extract). The 2006-2009 public-use files are from an extract created in October 2011 (the October 10, 2011 extract).

description: 2015-11-23 Covers for the PDF documentation were revised.2014-10-10 Added 2011 data to the TEDS-D concatenated data file. This update also effected a change to the Stata system data file from version 13 to version 12 for compatibility on a wider range of systems.2014-01-28 Added 2010 data to the TEDS-D concatenated data file.2013-06-10 Added 2009 data to the TEDS-D concatenated data file. Replaced 2006 to 2008 data with new extracts. A new variable, ARRESTS, has been included in the dataset for the years of 2008 to 2009 only. The recodes for the variables DETNLF and DETCRIM have been revised to provide greater utility in using these variables in analysis. Funding insitution(s): United States Department of Health and Human Services. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Office of Applied Studies.


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Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Photo of the Month: Tree Sparrow
Posted by Anonymous at 2:10 PM 2 comments
Labels: birds, nature, photo of the month
Friday, March 26, 2010
Court Ruling Against BC Government - Protection of the Caribou
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Wind energy assault poised for major bird flyway in Southern Ontario.
Posted by Anonymous at 1:48 PM 2 comments
Labels: birds, development, energy, great lakes, IBA, important bird area, important bird areas, migration, ontario, water, wind energy
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Nature Canada and the International Year of Biodiversity
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Nature Canada Pipes Up Against Enbridge
Posted by Anonymous at 9:31 AM 2 comments
Labels: british columbia, development, Enbridge, energy, get involved, Nature Canada, Northern Gateway, Oil sands, tar sands, water
Friday, March 19, 2010
Oceanic, alpine and grassland birds vulnerable to climate change: New Report
Posted by Anonymous at 9:21 AM 0 comments
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Young Naturalists' Club of BC celebrates their birthday with a gift for you
Posted by Anonymous at 4:37 AM 1 comments
Labels: british columbia, naturalist, nature, youth
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Migratory Birds Found "Double Breeding"
Posted by Anonymous at 7:11 AM 1 comments
Labels: birds, chris, conservation
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Nature Canada's 6-degrees connection to tonight's Rick Mercer Report
Posted by Anonymous at 5:00 PM 0 comments
Labels: Alex, Nature Canada, Rick Mercer
Mackenzie and Suffield: Opportunities for Sustainability?
Posted by Anonymous at 9:15 AM 0 comments
Labels: alberta, arctic, carla, energy, environmental assessments, mackenzie river, natural resources, Suffield, sustainable
Friday, March 12, 2010
Justice on the horizon for migratory birds
Posted by Anonymous at 8:26 AM 1 comments
Monday, March 8, 2010
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subset: commoncrawl


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Callaghan College, Jesmond Senior Campus
As I explored the life and abilities of the praying mantis, I wanted to capture the complexity of the insect and portray this in my finished work. The praying mantis appears awkward and ungainly, but in reality it is a precise and deadly predator giving no mercy to its unsuspecting prey. Stainless steel and patinated copper armour gives a misleading impression of softness underlying the reality of this precise killer. The praying mantis is a small, insignificant creature – by creating a larger version of this insect I sought to highlight the importance of insects to the survival of the world.


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Anyone here have any experience with the (rather) new kitchenAid espressomaschine.
Right now they are on offer in my country for a little less than 300 Euro - (less than 50 % of the original price) and a friend of mine wants to give one as a present to his brother.
He ask me for advice, but i dont know what to say (I only have a little experience with my Silvia) Which costs more.
I know they have a good reputation with other kitchen maschines.
But what about the espressomaker. Is it any good (specifikations looks good, heatexchanger and all.
But why are there NO rewiews at all, whwn you try Google?
Any advice would be most welcome.
I guess that this maschine like most (all) others really is no good, if you dont want to buy a good grtinder too?


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Readers who are interested can now access these free Digital Kits through Olive Tree Genealogy blog.
Each free kit includes
- 2 Digital Papers
- 4 Page Elements
- 2 Quick Pages
The Free Digital Scrapbooking Kit offered this week can be seen on the left. I will be providing a link to a new Free Digital Kit next week so be sure to come back to grab that!
With these free kits you can start an album for photobooks, printing or on line viewing.
Readers of OliveTreeGenealogy Blog can also use this special code STMMMS31969 to get a $10 discount off the purchase of the My Memories Suite Scrapbook software and a $10 coupon for the MyMemories.com store - $20 value!


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When it comes to airplanes, the air cargo industry has almost always been stuck with the leftovers. Even the minority of all-cargo planes built as freighters typically hail from the tail end of the production line and feature an airframe design already on its way out of favor.
But with growth in air cargo trade actually outpacing the passenger business and drawing more attention from the world top airplane manufacturers than ever before, the tide may turn soon.
Perhaps the growing importance of time-sensitive shipments in the express package industry will even spur on the long-anticipated spread of supersonic transport, an advance in flight capability that has fallen victim to economic and environmental concerns. Trends in manufacturing and distribution may, in fact, push aircraft makers and operators to press for the high-speed advances that business travelers have not stimulated.
Some forecasters see the proliferation of Asian manufacturers with super-tight supply chains paving the way for a super-jumbo, mammoth airplanes that passenger business cannot sustain alone. Others envision revolutionary aircraft designs that can accommodate twice the freight in half the wingspan to meet market forces that demand some of the world's busiest airports double their cargo traffic without compromising loading times.
There are certainly enough next-generation aircraft designs out there to enliven a discussion on future freighters. Lockheed Martin's Aeronautical Systems division alone has a large portfolio of designs that could be central to the future of air transport. A box wing is the centerpiece of its proposed "super freighter," which would be be capable of hauling 160 tonnes of freight yet use existing ground equipment.
Wing designs have been relatively unchanged for decades, but engineers are working on new outlines that would vastly improve aerodynamic efficiency, capacity and range. After over five years of studying some 50 next-generation transport aircraft configurations, Lockheed still has high hopes for an airliner with a strut-braced wing, one with a joined wing, and yet another with a blended wing-body configuration.


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GstarCAD Unveils What's New in v2011
Focus on Speed and Ease of Use Enables Designers to Work More Efficiently
GstarCAD announced the sound enhancement of GstarCAD V2011, a milestone version for the DWG – compatible CAD market. New features and enhancements have been addressed since half a year before, and substantial improvements on speed and ease of use will be brought in the latest version.
GstarCAD is recognized as the fast, powerful and DWG-compatible CAD software by offering a productive and profitable feature set to users. The combination of DWG compatibility, an ease of use interface, real-time support and an affordable price were key to its success so far. The latest developments will see further emphasis on end-user productivity.
"The performance enhancement is the most competitive advantage of GstarCAD 2011, delivering new ways to speed product design. In addition to improvements of performance, Version 2011 introduces Ribbon user-interface to increase efficiency and make it easier for users to find features to get their work done. Besides, transform from 3D model to 2D drawing, text field, other newly-added functions, and new enhancements involved new drawing compare and shade plot in layout space will increase the productivity throughout our customer base. "GstarCAD 2011's new CAD capabilities will enable our development team to intelligently take up new challenges in the design of our products and system optimization," said Jack Yuan, global technology development manager of GstarCAD, "We're striving to improve our product quality with the strongest technical force."
"There are big changes," said Meiyu Huang, international marketing director of GstarCAD, "all the improvements are based on our global customers' diversified demands and they are eager to experience the rise of performance to grow together with GstarCAD."
About Gstarsoft
Suzhou Gstarsoft Co., Ltd is the recognized leading provider of 2D/3D CAD software and solutions for the industries involving AEC, mechanical, manufacturing, electrical, GIS, survey and mapping, civil, etc. With more than 18 years of proud history of technology innovation and practical application, GstarCAD software is dedicated to providing the fast, powerful and DWG-compatible CAD software for our customers and partners worldwide.


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The world depends on mariners. Mariners depend on SCI. And we depend on you.
Photos from retirement party for Chaplain Jim Wilkinson in Paducah, KY in May 2010.
Photos by the Rev. David Rider, President & Executive Director.
SCI maintains a staff of professional chaplains with interfaith and cross-cultural backgrounds. Chaplains and volunteers assist thousands each year, extending a hand of friendship and hospitality.


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NSFW Ann Summers has declared one of its vibrators is NSFW - and the last letter doesn't stand for working.
The High Street sex shop chain has recalled its range of Ultimate O sex toys over fears that power supplies may be faulty.
Anyone who purchased one of the pink pleasure-givers can return it to Ann Summers for a refund.
"Please unplug and stop using the product immediately," the manufacturer warned anyone who happened to be surfing the Trading Standards website while entertaining themselves. "Return both the product AND the charger.
"It has come to our attention that there may be a fault in some of the chargers for this product. As a precaution, we're recalling the product and would like to give you a full refund."
Only people who bought their vibrator on or before 24 May need to return it, the sex store's supremos added.
A quick (and furtive) look on the Ann Summers website reveals that the Ultimate O comes in pink and looks like a set of cow udders, or perhaps a rubber glove designed for three-fingered dishwashers.
The designers at Ann Summers, who've got a pretty amazing job all things considered, teamed up with gynecological experts to create the device, which is described as the "ultimate clitoral stimulator". The product description added:
"Made from beautifully smooth premium silicone, the Ultimate O is designed to encompass and stimulate your entire 'outside pleasure area', and the centre finger gives intensely powerful sensations when pressed down directly onto your clitoris. There's plenty to play around with too, as it comes with several vibrating settings and intensities to choose from, so you can find your perfect rhythm.
"It's also incredibly easy to use as all the vibrations are controlled by a single LED button at the base. And it's completely rechargeable too, so no need for batteries! The Ultimate O is also whisper quiet, totally body-safe, and comes with a recharging cable and plug."
The website is also full of testimonies from people who've hit the jackpot after buying the device. After all, whenever the Ultimate O is whipped out, there's bound to be electricity in the air. ®
On the general theme of destroying rings, Vulture Central's backroom gremlins noticed that the Ultimate O appears to have been inspired by Tolkien architecture from the upper slopes of Mordor.


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Nebraska Events, Coupons, Reviews!
Subscribe to KidsScoop! The monthly family event and savings newsletter.
When we're faced with a child in the throes of a temper tantrum, it's hard for us to pay attention to the fact that tantrums aren't all the same. Some tantrums are brought on by a child's frustration and fatigue while other outbursts may be due to attention-seeking or demanding behavior - "I want!" and "I need!" The best way to handle temper tantrums in children is to understand the types of tantrums that exist. That way we can respond to different types of temper tantrums with the right responses to help our children regain control.
Frustration or Fatigue Related Tantrums
Young children may be frustrated when we can't understand what they want, and older children may be upset because they're unable to put something together or get something to work. In these situations, the best response is exercising positive parenting through encouragement and understanding. But the trick is that the encouragement and understanding have to come before our children reach a full-speed, no-turning-back tantrum. Try saying, "I know you want to tell me something. Show me what you need," or "I know it's hard to work this toy, but you'll get better at it. Can I help you?" Praise also helps. Give praise for trying, praise for not giving up, and praise for not having a full-blown tantrum.
Attention-Seeking or Demanding Tantrums
Children also throw temper tantrums to get their own way, and in many situations tired, embarrassed parents tend to "give in." We've all done it even when we know we shouldn't. (Remember the grocery store?) These types of tantrums involve more violent behavior: kicking, slamming a door, hitting, or even breath-holding. How can we deal with these temper tantrum fits?
Read this full article for more tips on handling temper tantrums and avoiding them altogether or browse through the related information below.
A great place for parenting tips, at-home learning activities, and parent conversations.
Webinar: Discipline for Young Children
Figuring out how to discipline your child is one of the most daunting tasks of parenthood. Is time out the only choice? Do sticker charts really work? What do I do if my child has a tantrum at the grocery store? Linda Mason, Bright Horizons co-founder and author of The Working Mother's Guide to Life, answers questions on appropriate discipline techniques for children under the age of 5.
Girl Power: Children's Books of Adventure & Courage
Who Says Women Can't Be Doctors? is the story of Elizabeth Blackwell, the first female physician in the United States. It may be hard for young children to imagine a time when society put strong limits on what women could accomplish. This issue of Growing Readers features children's books (from infant to school age) about empowered girls and young women who can become all they want to be.


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Korpo Serif Font Family
Korpo Serif, designed by Mateusz Machalski, is a serif type family with a friendly feel. Serif style brings to mind egyptian or slab styles. This type contains 10 variants with two different "a" ang "g" glyph per style. Korpo contain Small CAPS in two styles. Broken details were made intentionally for better readability. The low contrast and high x height is perfect for longer text and Headlines.
OTF | 10 Fonts | JPEG Preview | 10.6 Mb RAR


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Golf Channel's Morning Drive host Lauren Thompson (left) interviews Billy Casper Golf's Senior Vice President of Operations Tony Cianci (right) about the 2019 World's Largest Golf Outing on Monday, Aug. 5.
(RESTON, Va.) – While golfers nationwide were awakening for the ninth annual World's Largest Golf Outing (WLGO) last Monday morning, they were met by Billy Casper Golf's Senior Vice President of Operations Tony Cianci and Fisher House Foundation's Chief of Staff Mary Considine on Golf Channel's Morning Drive.
On the show, Cianci and Considine talked about how WLGO came to be and why this is the fourth year the outing has partnered with Fisher House, which provides military families free lodging while their loved ones receive medical treatment at 84 houses across the nation.
"It could be due to combat injury or a veteran dealing with cancer or end-of-life issues, but this is a way we can support them and it's a way we can do something we that we love – play golf," Considine said. "That has an impact on making sure these families are together at a hospital, staying at a Fisher House and they can focus on their loved one recovery. And that's an incredible gift."
The money raised through WLGO helps keep families together while loved
ones are receiving medical care. The Fisher House staff shares that "a family's
love is good medicine" and all of that is possible through donations like that
from WLGO to pay for food, electricity bills and even for building new Fisher
Houses, such as the one in Orlando that opened in February 2018.
"You don't have to be a great golfer – you don't even have to be a golfer to donate," Cianci said. "That would go to one of the worthiest causes you can imagine, to help our veterans and veterans' families."
To donate to #WLGO19 and Fisher House, visit www.worldslargestgolfouting.com/donate
Watch Cianci's interview with Morning Drive's Lauren Thompson:
Watch Considine's interview with Thompson:


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The Blackhawks Saga
If you've been reading my blog for any length of time, you're more than well aware of my aversion to the logo and uniforms of the Chicago Blackhawks. Now it's not that I just dislike them, it's that they're consistently billed as being the best logo/uniform combination in the NHL.
Yet no one has ever supplied a good reason!
I like their uniform design just find but I think their logo is old-fashioned — and not in the good way like the Canadiens. Even the Bruins had the sense to keep their look updated without kissing tradition goodbye.
To that end, I got an email this past week with a great logo set I can't help but feel is an improvement.
There are also jerseys — same design, just with the new logos.
Feel free to tell me I'm wrong and that the 'Hawks should change nothing, but know that I've heard it all before. And if you're among those who believe Chicago has the best look in the league, allow me to challenge you to explain. My position is that they are solid. They're not horrible, but how are they the best?
By the way, when redesigning the look of one of the league's oldest and most storied franchises, here's something to avoid.
Get ready. Monday's coming.


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Today we drove to Middleofnowhere, Utah, where my MIL has rented a large house for us to meet up with her, Mrs. Grumpy's brothers, and their families for a few days.
Family reunions with this branch have always been interesting. In the past they've involved trips to the lake, which have ended with someone accidentally sinking a boat in shallow water. So this year they picked a place nowhere near a lake.
As we drove through Utah we had to stop for highway construction. A young guy holding one of those Stop/Slow signs brought our column of cars to halt. He motioned for us to roll down the window.
Mrs. Grumpy: "Hi."
Mr. RM: "Sorry, folks. Road work going on. Gonna be about 5 minutes before the guide vehicle comes back."
Mrs. Grumpy: "Okay."
Mr. RM: "While you're waiting, would you like a copy of the Book of Mormon?"
When we finally got to high-altitude Middleofnowhere, it was colder than we thought it would be. Unfortunately, we'd sent our jackets back home with my parents after the cruise.
All of us were fine except Craig, who was convinced he was going to die of hypothermia. So I set off to find a cheap sweatshirt.
This wasn't as easy as it sounds. We're in the middle of nowhere, and couldn't find a Wal-Mart (those of you who know how much I hate Wal-Mart will understand how desperate I must have been to be looking for one).
After driving through town (which took < 1 minute) I located the local store, which had some cheap sweatshirts. When I was checking out the guy at the cash register asked me "do you need any ammo or kerosene?"
My MIL has rented this HUGE house for the family reunion, so that each family can have their own bedroom. Whoever designed this place was remarkably fond of mirrors, and has them on, quite literally, every wall (and a few ceilings) in all the rooms & hallways. It makes me wonder if we're being videotaped for some sort of "family reunities in the boondocks and kills each other" reality show.
Another oddity of the house is an old headless mannequin, wearing a white dress.
Exactly why anyone thought this would enhance the beauty of the place is beyond me. All it needs was some blood on the gown and ghost stories to scare the little kids.
Since getting here the thing has made the rounds, randomly showing up in various showers, closets, and beds.
One of my SIL's brought some gifts for the kids, leftover headbands from the movie "Kung-Fu Panda". Their are 5 types, each one listing a character's martial arts style from the flick. So they say things like "Monkey Style" or "Tiger Style". In retrospect, I guess it's a good thing there wasn't a doggie in the film.
When dinner finally rolled around, my MIL called a local place to order food, and my BIL Rob and I were designated to go pick it up.
Rob is an interesting guy. His job requires him to drive long distances between rural areas. To pass the time he installed a DVD player in his truck so he can watch movies while driving (I swear!). Ever since I married his sister he's been after me to leave my job and open a lawn mowing service with him.
As we were driving along I noticed that the the DVD player had broken, and asked him what happened. He replied "Oh, I loaned the truck to this stupid kid who lives in town. While he was driving he accidentally spilled a milkshake into it. People are so fucked up these days. I mean, what kind of idiot would trust a kid like that?"
I didn't bother to answer the question.
The sign in front of Local Dump said: "Take-Out Service: Pull up on east side of building, and we will bring it out to you."
So Rob pulled up on the west side of the building, and stopped.
I wanted to be polite, so I didn't say anything. I watched as someone drove up to the other side of the building, got their order, and headed off. Rob just sat there.
Finally he said: "I wonder where our order is?"
Dr. Grumpy: "Um, I think we're supposed to be on the east side of the building. That's what the sign says."
BIL Rob: "I know, but we are on the east side."
Dr. Grumpy: "We're on the west side. See, look at the sun."
BIL: "No, the sign meant east side as you look at the building from the road. We're turned around now, and so the sides are reversed".
Dr. Grumpy: "East and west don't change. We need to be on that side of the building"
BIL Rob: "We're on the east side. Trust me."
It wasn't worth arguing. So we continued waiting. After a few more minutes Rob went into the restaurant and came back with the food. He told me he hadn't tipped the waitress, because she was an idiot who didn't know the difference between east and west.


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While spring break may have brought a streak of "warm" weather to Minnesota, it certainly could not compare to the warmth experienced by Auggies in New Orleans. Thirty students and staff spent the week in the Crescent City doing service work and experiencing the destruction that remains and optimism that prevails in this remarkable city.
We arrived on March 13 to Camp Restore, a Lutheran volunteer camp that connects volunteers to a variety of service projects in the city. We settled into our bunks in the boxcars at Camp Restore to get ready for the week of work ahead. Throughout the week we painted, put in insulation and dry wall, helped at a horse ranch, and worked with kids.
The Rescue Ranch, run by a woman who was severely affected by Katrina, was especially meaningful for freshman Anika Clark. She explained, "On Saturdays her horses are involved in therapy for juvenile delinquents as they train the horses with specific commands. It really is this type of that work that shows how much one person can make a difference, and shows what faith in the Lord and oneself can lead to."
Sophomore Hien Nguyen said, "Each day there were different projects to be completed, so everyone shifted around a bunch, which gave everyone the opportunity to explore their skills and to work with different people. I definitely got to know a ton of new people that I would never have had the chance to meet."
Though five and a half years have passed since Katrina hit New Orleans and much has been restored, there is still considerable work to be done. One of the workers at Camp Restore took us on a "disaster tour" of the 9th Ward, where there are still many houses that don't look much different than when the water finally subsided. Spray-painted "Xs" mark these houses with the name of the group that checked the house, the date the house was checked, and the number of dead bodies found in it at the time.
The memories of the hurricane also remain vivid to residents who returned to find houses and loved ones washed away. We were blessed by an eighty-year-old woman who shared some of her story with us, and it was penetratingly clear just how devastating Katrina was.
But as with all tragedy, good things and hope do arise. While they do not justify what happened, they do provide a spark for striving for brighter days. For instance, a man told us about two churches, a predominantly white one and a predominantly black one, that were less than kind to one another before Katrina. Afterward, they joined together as one.
Additionally, the culture of New Orleans—from jazz to beignets to jambalaya to art—has prevailed through the storm. One man told us why he thought so many people stayed in New Orleans: "It is a city with a living history that keeps re-generating itself."
It is difficult not to be captured by the richness of this city, and we truly received just as much, if not more, as we gave. We learned from the people of New Orleans and bonded with one another. Freshman Annie Winter said, "I was blessed to meet some amazing people, from both New Orleans and Augsburg. I really do think I made some life long friends and the memories made from this trip will never be forgotten."
Article by Katelyn Danelski


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Polar Express with LionChief Remote and RailSounds RC
O Gauge, The Polar Express Train Set is available with remote control operation! Fitted with the new LionChief Remote Control system by Lionel, engineers young and old have complete control over their Polar Express trains by an easy-to-use remote. You'll feel a difference in the smooth operation of the Berkshire locomotive, and hear more realism in the locomotive sounds. In addition to the famous "All Aboard!" announcement of the Polar Express conductor, you'll also get a brand new "Tickets Please" announcement that's
only available in the LionChief remote control version of the train set.
- Train set, track, and wall-pack power supply included
- Ready-to-run out of the box!
- Basic wall-pack power supply
- Terminal track section with a jack for connecting the wall pack
- Kid-friendly hand-held remote
- Distinct frequencies available for different LionChief locomotives allow for multiple remote engines to run at the same time
- LionChief locomotives can also run on any track powered by a conventional transformer at a constant 18 volts
- LionChief locomotives can operate at the same time as any Legacy or TMCC-controlled engine on the same 18 volt-powered layout and track
- Set Includes:
- 6-18784 2-8-4 locomotive and tender
- 6-25100 Coach
- 6-25101 Coach
- 6-25102 Observation Car
- Polar Express decorative bell
- Four Polar Express character figures
- Eight curved O-36 FasTrack sections, One straight FasTrack track section, eight curved FasTrack track sections, a FasTrack Wall Pack terminal section,
- Remote Control for locomotive
- Wallpack power supply
- Locomotive Features:
- Electric locomotive controlled by remote
- Official "All aboard the Polar Express" and tickets please movie sound clip (remote only)
- On/Off switches for smoke and sound
- RailSounds RC sound system with steam chuffing and engine background sounds, whistle, bell, and user-activated announcements.
- Operating headlight
- Puffing smoke unit
- Operating coupler on rear of tender
- Powerful maintenance-free motor
- Two traction tires
- Die-cast metal locomotive body
- Separately applied metal handrails
- Large pilot and headlight lens shield
- Passenger Cars Feature:
- Interior lighting
- Decorated drumhead on observation car
- Rounded observation platform
- Silhouettes in window
- Remote Features
- Forward and reverse speed control knob
- Three buttons activate whistle sound, bell sound, and official announcements from the movie
- Requires three AAA alkaline batteries (not included)
Gauge: Traditional O Gauge
Dimensions: Set Length: 63 3⁄8"" / Layout: 40" x 50"
Minimum Curve: O-27


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Frugal Friday~
Now for my Frugal Round-up...
Are you a resolution maker? I am. And so I wanted to share this cute FREE New Year's Resolution Printable which was linked by Carissa Miss. What a fun way to keep track of your goals!
Now it's your turn!
You know "da rules"...
1. Please link directly to your post and not just to your blog. Please refrain from linking posts for Etsy shops, giveaways, reviews or features of other bloggers' work. Please only link posts of your own projects.
2. Please link back the Shabby Nest (you can use the pretty button on my side bar to make it easy.) I only feature projects in my Frugal Round-up that link back to The Shabby Nest. I have passed up some great features because they didn't link back..so please use common courtesy and return the link! MWAH!!
3. Please visit other participants and leave them comments! Help them feel "the love!"


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BETHESDA, Md., May 1, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Northwest Biotherapeutics, Inc. (OTC Bulletin Board: NWBO) (NW Bio) today announced that, working together with the Fraunhofer Institute (IZI), it has received approval of a major grant from the Sachsische Aufbau Bank (SAB or Saxony Development Bank) in Germany. The grant will reimburse fifty percent (50%) of the costs for manufacturing in Germany and for NW Bio's clinical trial with DCVax®-L for brain cancer at up to 30 clinical sites in Germany. The amount of the grant will be euro 4.15 million (~$5.5 million).
(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20110329/SF73084LOGO)
The clinical sites in Germany and their data will become part of the 240-patient, double blind, randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trial for newly diagnosed Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) brain cancer, which is under way at more than 30 sites across the U.S. The German clinical sites and data will also provide domestic data for European Union (EU) approval processes.
"After working closely for more than 7 months on this grant application process with partners at Fraunhofer IZI, Bioville GmbH, the Translational Center for Regenerative Medicine and Cognate GmbH, we are excited and honored to be awarded one of the largest such R&D grants ever made by the Saxony Development Bank," commented Linda Powers, CEO of NW Bio. "This award will help us build our base in Germany, and accelerate our brain cancer clinical trial in Europe as well as the US, with some of the most respected institutions on both sides of the Atlantic."
As noted last week, following recent completion of 13 months of technology transfer and regulatory processes for certification of DCVax®-L manufacturing in Germany, the final regulatory inspection of Fraunhofer IZI's manufacturing facility is scheduled for June. After the final inspection is successfully completed, manufacturing for the DCVax®-L clinical trial and for Hospital Exemption cases under subsection 4b of the German Drug Act (i.e., compassionate use cases) will be ready to begin. To date, 24 of the 30 clinical trial sites in Germany have already been selected and are in varying stages of qualification and preparation.
NW Bio has made a strategic decision to settle in Leipzig, Germany, and establish its subsidiary there. Leipzig is the second largest city in the State of Saxony, and is the home of Fraunhofer IZI. The State of Saxony, and Leipzig in particular, have put a concentrated focus on regenerative medicine and cell therapies (including immune therapies) for nearly a decade, and have become one of the most important centers for such therapies in Europe. This concentration includes the full spectrum of capabilities and infrastructure, from R&D to specialized hospitals and medical centers to manufacturing. Funding for the grant has been provided by the German Federal State of Saxony and the European Union.
Leipzig has also become a leading center for Europe-wide logistics. DHL, a dominant courier service in Europe, recently moved its overall European logistics hub from Belgium to Leipzig. Other general logistics companies, such as Lufthansa Cargo, and specialized couriers, such as World Courier (who specializes in handling and transporting human organs, tissues and blood products), have also established major operations in Leipzig.
With the support of the State of Saxony, NW Bio will have the opportunity to expand its development and long-term marketing activities for DCVax®-L in Europe.
About Northwest Biotherapeutics, Inc.
Northwest Biotherapeutics, Inc. is a biotechnology company focused on developing immunotherapy products to treat cancers more effectively than current treatments, without toxicities of the kind associated with chemotherapies, and on a cost-effective basis. The Company is developing dendritic cell-based vaccines. The Company's lead clinical trial is a 240-patient trial in newly diagnosed Glioblastoma multiforme ("GBM"), the most aggressive and lethal form of brain cancer. The Company also previously received clearance from the FDA for a 612-patient Phase III trial in prostate cancer, and clearance from the FDA for Phase I trials in five other cancers. The Company has also conducted a Phase I/II trial with DCVax®-L for recurrent metastatic ovarian cancer. For further information about clinical sites and about the Company, please visit the Company's web site at www.nwbio.com.
Statements made in this news release that are not historical facts, including statements concerning future treatment of patients with GBM using DCVax®-L and future clinical trials, are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Words such as "expects," "believes," "intends," and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Actual results may differ materially from those projected in any forward-looking statement. Specifically, there are a number of important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated, such as the Company's ability to raise additional capital, risks related to the Company's ability to enroll patients in its clinical trials and complete the trials on a timely basis, the uncertainty of the clinical trials process, uncertainties about the timely performance of third parties, and whether the Company's products will demonstrate safety and efficacy. Additional information on these and other factors, including Risk Factors which could affect the Company's results, are included in the Company's Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") filings. Finally, there may be other factors not mentioned above or included in the Company's SEC filings that may cause actual results to differ materially from those projected in any forward-looking statement. You should not place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements. The Company assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements as a result of new information, future events or developments, except as required by securities laws.
|SOURCE Northwest Biotherapeutics, Inc.
Copyright©2010 PR Newswire.
All rights reserved


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So The Artist was a big deal during the awards season of 2011, but I'm willing to bet a lot of you didn't go out to see it. I know I wasn't particularly stoked about paying up to go see a silent movie in theaters, but someone dragged me.
And man, it was totally worth it. This is one of those situations where the absence of something major—like sound, and color for that matter—just draws attention to the things that are still there, in the best possible way. The Artist's (phenomenal) blocking, score, art design, and all around cinematography are all the more clear for the lack of sound, as is the actors' body language. It's fascinating.
The kicker here is that The Artist just came to Netflix Instant on Thursday, so now the barrier to entry is only an investment of your time (if you have Netflix anyway), and it's totally worth that. So queue it up and give it a watch, and then pantomime and lip-sync at everyone you see for the rest of the night. [Netflix]


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You've just finished reading Cheese in the Trap - chapter 204: [Season 3] Ep. 88 - Alice (1) by Soon Kki
If you like the manga, please click the Bookmark button (Heart icon) at the bottom left corner to add it to your favorite list. If you find any errors, contact us so we can fix it as soon as possible!


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The Obama backlash in coal and energy stocksNovember 7, 2012: 12:24 PM ET
President Obama's re-election win sparked a sharp sell-off in coal, gas and oil stocks Wednesday.
During the presidential campaign, Republican challenger Mitt Romney said Obama had waged a war on the coal industry during his first term. The reality is more nuanced. Coal production has dropped swiftly, but that's due to a mix of factors, including a U.S. natural gas boom that's made gas a compelling energy alternative. The recession has also dampened demand.
The coal industry will see more regulations take effect in 2015, but many of those rules were written before Obama took office. A second Obama term will likely make coal exploration and combustion more expensive over the next four years, as experts expects he will be even tougher on the coal industry.
Investors had been holding out hope that a Romney win would be a boon for the industry, since many felt he would try to find a way to untangle some of those regulations.
"Romney was quite clear about the need for coal use and coal exploration, while Obama is viewed as more friendly toward environmental regulations," said Dan Greenhaus, chief global strategist of BTIG.
Coal companies, which had a nice jump ahead of the election, saw the sharpest declines. "If there was a Romney trade yesterday, today is about unwinding those trades," said Greenhaus.
Arch Coal (ACI), Alpha Natural Resources (ANR), Peabody Energy (BTU), Consol Energy (CNX), and Walter Energy (WLT) all dropped more than 5%.
Related: Did Obama kill coal jobs?
These companies have had a tough run in 2012 as cheap natural gas has lowered domestic demand for coal. Arch Coal and Alpha Natural Resources are both down more than 40% this year.
The effects of the Obama win were less dramatic in oil and gas stocks, which also sold off. Exxon (XOM) and Halliburton (HAL) dropped more than 2%.
Natural gas producer Chesapeake Energy (CHK) also fell roughly 2%. While Obama's first term coincided with a boom in natural gas, investors worry that his administration could put restrictions on natural gas fracking and drilling, which could hurt the industry.
While the Obama administration is perceived as more friendly to so-called clean energy, shares of PowerShares WilderHill Clean Energy Portfolio (PBW), an ETF that invests in clean energy stocks, also sold off, dropping 2% Wednesday.


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Fig. 9 shows one possibility of using all four three-note patterns over a chorus of blues. But remember, don't just practice my examples, experiment with different combinations to make this idea your own. Initially you should practice this example with the given articulations. Once you feel comfortable, try varying your right- and left-hand phrasing. One possible way to vary the articulation is to pick every note rather than using hammer-ons and slides.
Fig. 10 and Fig. 11 illustrate double-stop ideas that an organist might play in the soul jazz genre. Hammond B-3 players are able to sustain one top note in their right hand while improvising counter lines with their left hand. Since we only have the capability of using our left hand on the fretboard (at least when using traditional techniques), I have adjusted the concept to work on the guitar. Play through both examples while focusing on sustaining the top note. Pat Martino uses the lick in Fig. 11 during his improvised solo on "A Blues for Mickey-O."
Fig. 12 illustrates the use of both of these ideas over a blues progression. The first chorus uses Fig. 10 extensively, and the second chorus employs the idea in Fig. 11. In the first chorus I have taken the idea and adjusted the placement to fit over the changing harmonic motion. I would suggest extra practice time on the first chorus, as it is more involved.
Now we are really getting somewhere! Before proceeding to the next idea, I would strongly suggest exploring each of the previous patterns over the provided play-along tracks. Both tracks are Bb blues progressions at a relaxed tempo, and they'll allow you to really dig in and investigate your own amalgamations of these patterns.


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Story highlights
- The Braves had reportedly considered using a 'screaming Indian' logo on batting practice caps
- The logo drew ire from Native Americans as being offensive
- The Braves are now using a navy blue cap with the scripted 'A' logo
In the end, the Braves are keeping with tradition - as in the signature 'A' that is the team's logo.
MLB.com posted a photo of the new navy blue batting practice caps with a red and white scripted 'A.' The team will wear those hats at spring training, which starts Tuesday.
The Braves said a decision on the batting caps had not been made yet when a potential design was leaked several weeks ago. That design drew ire for its "screaming Indian" logo.
"I like the selection we made this year," Braves President John Schuerholz said in a statement Monday. "We had a variety of choices that we looked at, some more thoroughly than others. But at the end, we liked this one."
But writer Paul Lukas of ESPN's Uni Watch blog, who broke the news of the cap design in December, wasn't buying the Braves' statement. He suggested the Braves withdrew the design because of the furor it caused.
"In other words, the Braves are claiming that they were never committed to the Indian head cap to begin with," Lukas wrote. "But that doesn't ring true.
"The Indian head cap has been shown for months in the official MLB Style Guide and is still shown there right now," Lukas wrote. "It's also shown in the new New Era catalog. All signs indicate that the Braves fully intended to go with the Indian design until the recent controversy caused them to have second thoughts.
Whew. That was certainly the reaction for some Americans, especially Native American groups that were highly critical of the screaming Indian logo.
Kevin Gover, director of the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of the American Indian, said in December that the use of the screaming Indian logo would be going backward.
"What this does is contribute to the casual racism native people are subjected to in our society," said Gover, a member of the Pawnee Nation.
The screaming Indian is an image of an imaginary Indian, Gover said. It and other stereotypical sports mascots, he said, do not portray Native Americans for who they truly are.
The Indian was part of the Braves logo when the team moved to Atlanta from Milwaukee in 1966. It was retired in 1989.
The team also had a mascot, Chief Noc-a-Homa (knock a homer), who wore Native American dress and war paint.
But not everyone agreed with the Braves' decision.
@ADeVoll17 posted this: "So disappointed the @Braves aren't wearing the Screaming Indian hats for spring training. You damn Indians won this time."
@MrBrohannon said: "Sick and tired of this PC culture we live in where everybody is afraid to hurt anybody's feelings. The "Screaming Indian" logo isn't racist..."
Others just wanted a piece of the controversy:
@mattplanet said: "Okay, so we all know some prototypes of that screaming indian Braves BP cap were made...somebody got to get us one..."
Debate over sports mascots is, of course, not new. U.S. professional and collegiate sports teams have used Native American logos and names for years. Baseball's Cleveland Indians, for instance, continue to feature a smiling Indian dubbed Chief Wahoo, criticized as a racist caricature.
Sometimes this happens with the blessing of Native American tribes, and other times -- like with the NFL's Washington Redskins, a term that many feel advances a demeaning stereotype -- they have been denounced as racial slurs.


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Lafuma Mobilier joins you on your balcony for a meal! Yes, really! The company lends its long outdoor experience to offer a collection specially designed to transform your balcony into a luxury retreat for mealtime. Stylish, ultra-practical, sturdy and space-saving, the Anytime range will suit the family lunch, friendly drinks with the neighbours or a candlelit dinner for two. Clever and colouful, it fits in with any surroundings from the "pocket-handkerchief" city balcony to the expanse of a penthouse terrace. The table is very functional with a resistant tabletop and safe base. It can also be infinitely personalised with coloured corner protectors. The chair is compact, light and comfortable. The clever folding mechanism is very practical as they are both set up and stored instantly. Don't wait any longer to imagine how your decor could look, just as you like it. Personalising your exterior space is child's play. Try acid tones to pep up the little outdoor space or emphasize a more neutral palette to create a zen ambiance.... And enjoy this innovative and desirable collection to the fullest!


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Composites slake the world's thirst
As the global thirst for drinkable water increases, the composites industry is drinking in the tremendous possibilities in seawater desalination.
#aramidfiber #layup #sustainability
Seventy-one percent of the earth's surface is covered by saltwater. People living on the remaining 29 percent need fresh water to sustain life. But the World Health Organization (WHO, Geneva, Switzerland) estimates that there are more than 1 billion people who lack fresh water. By midcentury that number is expected to swell to 4 billion. These startling realities admit no charge of hyperbole in the prediction that exponential growth is on tap for world seawater desalination.
Remarkably, almost 60 percent of the world's population lives less than 36 miles/60 km from a seacoast. Desalinated seawater is poised to become one of the main alternative freshwater resources in those regions. But market growth projections, in fact, take into account not only the increasing world population — projected to reach 7.52 billion by 2020 — and data about its proximity to seawater, but also the impacts of drought, urbanization, agricultural irrigation and, in some cases, saline invasion into existing freshwater resources. The market for products and services used to convert seawater into fresh water for municipal drinking water and other uses was estimated to be about $2 billion (USD) in 2000. Market research firm The Freedonia Group Inc. (Cleveland, Ohio) predicts that the desalination market will expand to more than $18 billion by 2020.
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A truly global market
Desalting has actually been around for more than 2,000 years, says Ian Watson, executive director of the American Membrane Technology Assn. (Stuart, Fla.). Historically, it has been used aboard ships and was especially important in 19th Century colonial expansion, which required fresh water for ships and colonies. In the 20th Century, the corrosive effects of seawater on desalination equipment spurred the use of plastics. With little fanfare, composite materials have been used for more than 30 years in desalination plants around the world, primarily in piping and connections (pipeworks) and other components that come into direct contact with seawater.
Although numerous desalination treatment and recycling technologies have proliferated in a multitude of submarkets, this overview focuses on what is probably the biggest user of composites — desalination of seawater for use as fresh water by reverse osmosis.
Osmosis occurs when two solutions, composed of solute (dissolved inorganic solids, such as salt) mixed with a solvent (in this case, water) are separated by a semipermeable membrane. The solvent molecules move through the membrane in the direction of high solute concentration until the solute/solvent ratios are equal. Osmosis would create two solutions of equally salty water. The seawater reverse osmosis (SWRO) process, as the name implies, reverses natural osmosis. It begins by bringing seawater (feed water) at low pressure through a pretreatment filtering system that removes suspended solids. The pretreated water then is pressurized and pumped through a series of semipermeable reverse osmosis (RO) membrane elements at about 900 to 1,200 psi (60 to 82.5 bar). On the other side of the membrane, fresh water is passed. Because of the pressure, the water molecules in the seawater (the high solute concentrate) pass through the membrane in the direction of the low solute concentrate — in this case, the passing fresh water (the product stream) and joins it — leaving the salt and other dissolved solids behind.
SWRO is described as a separation process, rather than a filtration process. "RO is a traffic cop of water," quips Doug Eisberg, director of business development for Avista Technologies (San Marcos, Calif.), which supplies specialty chemicals and technical support services for the membrane separation industry. "RO sends all the purified water to the product stream, and sends the bacteria, viruses, salt and other undesirables [collectively known as brine, or concentrate] on through to the next membrane," says Eisberg, where further separation occurs.
SWRO is expected to dominate and drive the desalination industry in coming years because it requires substantially less energy than other popular desalination technologies, such as multistage flash (MSF) and multieffect distillation (MED). These are high-energy thermal processes that rely on heating the seawater to produce steam. Only the water molecules are gasified, leaving the salt and impurities in the solution. The steam is transported to a cooling tank where the desalinated water condenses. Further, SWRO usually incorporates energy recovery devices that capture hydraulic energy from the process and convert it into rotary power for the high-pressure pumps.
Going to great lengths
SWRO plants around the world use miles and miles of corrosion-resistant fiberglass-reinforced polymer (FRP) low-pressure piping as a distribution network, primarily over land, to carry seawater from the sea to the plant, to distribute the potable water that is produced, to carry the brine back to the ocean, and for internal plant treatment piping and energy recovery devices.
Peter Kirkwood, managing director for ResiGlass Pty. Ltd. (Winthrop, W. Australia), explains, "FRP is the material of choice for medium- to large-size plants, while smaller plants tend to use high-density polyethylene [HDPE]." FRP is more cost-effective than HDPE in the larger-diameter pipes generally used in the biggest plants. FRP materials and processes can be tailored to meet specific mechanical property requirements and have the additional advantages of corrosion and chemical resistance, flexibility and the capacity to withstand mild shock.
FRP pipes are, primarily, filament wound glass/polyester. For aboveground applications, helical filament winding on a fixed-length mandrel is most popular because it can be tailored to achieve the desired hoop-to-axial strength ratio by customizing the angle of wind, making it ideal for restrained joining, Kirkwood explains. (Restrained joints feature couplings, tie rods or other types of restraints.) For pipes destined for burial underground, continuous filament-wound pipe is generally used because it can be produced in a greater variety of lengths and diameters. (Read more about continuous filament-wound pipe in "Designing for high pressure: Large diameter underground pipe," under "Editor's Picks," at top right.) Often it is also more price competitive and lends itself better to the use of unrestrained joints, such as mechanical seal couplings.
FRP joints and fittings are generally made by hand layup, although some flanges and fittings are filament wound, depending on the cost advantages.
FRP also is commonly used to construct storage tanks and piping used in desalination plants for sodium hypochlorite (NaOCl), often used in chlorination of desalination process water, and for sulfuric acid, which can be very difficult to store in metal "but can readily be handled in fiberglass/epoxy vinyl ester tanks and piping at ambient temperatures and concentrations below 50 percent," says Thomas Johnson, corrosion industry manager for resin producer Ashland, LLC (Dublin, Ohio).
There is little FRP pipe in the undersea portion of intake and discharge systems, however. Typically seawater is pumped up from seabed intake equipment through concrete tunnels, often lined with polyvinyl chloride (PVC) or other plastic to decrease friction and discourage attachment of crustaceans.
There are exceptions. One is the velocity intake system on the seabed at the Gold Coast, Australia, plant, which is nearly all FRP composite material with a frame of stainless steel, according to Gary Crisp, global business leader – desalination for GHD Global Engineering Consultants (Perth, Australia). "A mile-long concrete tunnel from the intake system commences from a vertical, composite-lined intake shaft incorporating velocity cap open seawater intake," Crisp says. (The velocity cap, a concrete cover slightly raised over the vertically oriented intake pipe, redirects seawater into the pipe horizontally, reducing the risk of fish getting sucked in and then stuck on the internal intake screen.) "A second mile-long concrete tunnel terminates in a vertical, composite-lined outfall shaft, connected to diffusers, that returns seawater concentrate back to the sea." Custom-designed diffusers are typically used to spread out concentrate as it is discharged.
The composite pipelines for the 2.2m/7-ft intake and 1.6m/5-ft outfall shafts (see photo) were manufactured by helical filament winding in 12m/39-ft sections by RPC Technologies Pty. Ltd. (Seven Hills, New South Wales, Australia). Ribs wound over polyurethane foam cores add stiffness. RPC set up a temporary manufacturing plant and shipped pipes for undersea installation by barge, lowering them into a trench on the seabed. The pipe section under the sea was also buried with crushed stone, which was dropped from a barge. Divers then installed bell and spigot joints with double O-rings and plastic locking cord.
FRP is not used for the high-pressure piping that forces seawater at pressures up to 1,200 psi/82.47 bar through the RO separation process, mostly because composite joints and couplings associated with such high-pressure systems are considered impractical. The pressure pipework is almost always superduplex or superaustenitic stainless steel or, sometimes, titanium. But Crisp would like to see more research into the potential for use of high-strength fibers, such as carbon and aramid, to make high-pressure pipes and couplings because corrosion is still an issue, even with corrosion-resistant grades of steel. "Corrosion is a real problem for steel in this environment due to galvanic attack commonly found in seawater and brackish water environments, but composites made with epoxy vinyl ester resins such as Ashland's Derakane 411 or Hetron 922, or isophthalic resins such as Aropol 7334, perform admirably in desal piping applications," Johnson says.
Basic SWRO construction
Also FRP are the pressure vessels that enclose RO membrane elements. Multiple RO elements can be encased within each pressure vessel, and the vessels can be grouped together to use common pipes for feed water, fresh water and concentrate. Each grouping is called a train, and the trains are arranged in racks.
Today these pressure vessels are mostly precision filament-wound. Eisberg points out that filament winding on a precision mandrel produces a consistent inside diameter (ID) with a smooth surface. By comparison, a comparable metal pipe has neither a smooth inner surface nor a consistent diameter. This is a critical factor when installers must ensure a tight fit on the end closures that seal the joint where the membrane and pressure vessel meet.
This seal, sometimes called a brine seal, prevents the feed water from leaking outside the membrane. As seawater is pumped into the membranes, the fresh water separates, flowing through the RO membrane and into a product water tube at the centerline of the membrane element. These product water tubes are connected with O-ring seals and typically exit the pressure vessel at the end of the vessel. The brine concentrate is directed to a high-pressure concentrate port, usually located on the side of the pressure vessel, which then connects to a discharge pipe that ultimately carries the concentrate back to the sea.
The ports are metal flanges that attach to the sidewall of the vessel, and the industry demand for higher flows regularly requires enlarging the diameter of the exit port. This can be a challenge, says Chris Gargiulo, director of manufacturing engineering for pressure vessel filament winder ROPV (Harbin, China), because "we have to cut through the fibers in that area to install the port." The area around the port, therefore, must be strengthened if the vessel is to meet test standards. "Some companies use a ±45° reinforcement mat, others use a unidirectional mat, and overwind and some companies wind additional plies to reinforce the area," Gargiulo says.
Quality and safety issues
The high pressures used in RO demand high-quality materials and careful construction. After a series of catastrophic vessel failures in the early days of SWRO, strict standards for manufacture and testing were developed and published by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME, New York, N.Y.). To qualify for ASME code compliance, a filament-wound prototype must be cycled 100,000 times from zero pressure to design pressure (typically 1,000 psi/69 bar at 150°F/65.5°C minimum) without leakage. After that test, it must also withstand a pressure test of six times the design pressure to satisfy the safety factor for composite products.
These high standards are even more difficult to meet because of the increasing output volume from large SWRO projects. To meet market demands, ROPV winds as many as 200 pressure vessels per day, in various sizes, using fiberglass roving and epoxy resin. After winding, the mandrel is placed in an oven for a multistage cure. The cure duration depends on vessel wall thickness, resin chemistry and other variables. The process variables are closely monitored throughout winding and cure, and the degree of cure is verified by a differential scanning calorimeter (DSC).
For Singapore's Changi NEWater Plant, built by Sembcorp Industries Ltd. (Singapore), ROPV supplied 1,980 units of 8-inch (203-mm) ID by 40-inch (1,016-mm) long high-pressure seawater pressure vessels. Each unit enclosed a train of 10 SWRO membranes. The Changi plant is not for SWRO but instead is used for water reclamation. It begins with extensive pretreatment of sewage and industrial wastewater, followed by RO, to produce high-quality water used primarily in process applications. NEWater offers a capacity of 60 million gal/day (MGD), or 228,000 m3/day, of fresh water, enough to meet 15 percent of Singapore's fresh water needs (see photo).
For Singapore's large urban population, RO technology has been a necessary solution, both for water reclamation and seawater desalination. Singapore's national water agency, PUB, has developed a long-term plan to meet the country's increasing fresh water demand. In addition to the Changi plant, the SingSpring 36-MGD (136,000-m3/day) SWRO plant in Tuas, Singapore, built by Hyflux (Singapore), began operations in 2005, and a second SWRO plant is under construction by Hyflux now, scheduled for completion in 2013. Known as Tuas II, the second plant will have capacity for up to 84 MGD (318,500 m3/day). Hyflux purchased filament-wound pressure vessels for the first Tuas plant from Protec Arisawa (Tokyo, Japan) but contracted with ROPV to provide 3,672 8-inch/203-mm ID, 1,000 psi/69 bar pressure vessels for the TUAS II plant.
"In today's market," Eisberg explains, "pressure vessels are treated as a commodity, and suppliers are making more vessels per hour than ever before, while the technology used to make these vessels is more complex than ever before. Experienced suppliers are now trying to reduce costs to remain profitable while trying to make the most complicated products they have ever made."
Unfortunately, there has been concern recently that these standards are not being followed. "In addition, when new OEMs, end-users and inexperienced fabricators are factored into the equation, the separations industry is taking significant risk, perhaps without even realizing it." Eisberg urges strict compliance with the fabrication codes "for the long-term well-being of the industry."
Composites in RO membranes
Composites also make their way into the membranes themselves. For example, Changi's NEWater Plant and both Tuas plants installed SWRO membrane elements made by Toray Industries Inc. (Tokyo, Japan).
Spiral-wound composite RO membranes consist of a crosslinked, fully aromatic polyamide separation layer, with a supporting layer of polysulfone and a polyester fabric base, in a spiral-wound RO element, explains Peter Metcalfe, manager – applications engineering for Toray Membrane USA (Poway, Calif.).
The polyester fabric base is a nonwoven web that provides the backing and structural support for the membrane. To produce a smooth surface free of loose fibers, the fabric is calendered before it is further processed. "The calendering process is an important step for the backing fabric," Metcalfe says. "Any loose fibers sticking up from the plane of the fabric will also penetrate the membrane layer. They are a weak point and a potential source of leakage in the polyamide layer, and they have to be removed."
Although it provides basic structural support, the polyester web is too irregular and porous to provide a suitable substrate for the separation layer. The smooth surface of the base, therefore, is coated with a microporous layer of polysulfone engineering plastic (see illustration, p. 26). Then the polyamide separation layer is cast over the polysulfone-coated base to complete the membrane construction. It is typically 42-inches/1,067-mm wide and produced in rolls of 500m to 2,000m (1,640 ft to 6,562 ft) in length. The membrane is then combined with feed spacer material and permeate carrier material to create a spiral-wound element, typically using a fully automated process. In a final step, the element is overwrapped with glass/epoxy to increase its strength.
The installed capacity of Toray SWRO membranes over the past 25 years exceeds 1,110 MGD (4,200,000 m3/day) of fresh water from seawater in plants built worldwide by all the major OEMs — including Hyflux, GE Power and Water (Pittsburgh, Pa.), Doosan (Seoul, South Korea) and Veolia Water Solutions & Technologies (Saint-Maurice, France) — from the Hyflux plants in Singapore, to a 132-MGD (500,000 m3/day) plant in Algeria built in 2011, to a 396,258-gal/day (1,500 m3/day) plant in Yemen built in 2008 by Metito (Dubai, U.A.E.).
Another major RO membrane producer is Dow Water & Process Solutions (Edina, Minn.), a business unit of The Dow Chemical Co. (Midland, Mich.). DOW FILMTEC FT30 elements are in use at some of the largest seawater desalination plants in the world, including the 87-MGD (330,000 m3/day) capacity SWRO desalination plant in Ashkelon, Israel, a joint venture of Veolia, IDE Technologies Ltd. (Kadima, Israel), and Dankner-Ellern Infrastructures (now Elran DD, Herzliya, Israel). This was the first of several SWRO plants in Israel's long-term national planning program to mitigate drought and meet increasing demands on its scarce water resources. FILMTEC elements also are used in the 120-MGD (456,000-m3/day) Hadera, Israel, plant, one of the world's largest, and in three SWRO plants constructed by CH2M HILL (Denver, Colo.) for Sharjah Electricity and Water Authority (SEWA, Sharjah, U.A.E.). The membrane housings are ASME code-compliant filament-wound CodeLine-brand pressure vessels from Pentair Process Technologies (Golden Valley, Minn.). All three SEWA plants use filament-wound FRP piping from Chemical Process Piping Pvt. (CPP, Mumbai, India).
Desalination in the U.S.
The U.S. Congress established the Office of Saline Water in 1952 for research into desalination technology, and the U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Reclamation (BuRec, Denver, Colo.) is still active in this area. The U.S. is the largest user of the technology in the world, primarily for purifying brackish water rather than seawater, according to Peter Soeth, a spokesperson for BuRec Public Affairs. Today the U.S. leads the world in brackish water desalination, with plants in Florida, Texas, California and several states on the East Coast and in the West/Midwest. The U.S. has few seawater desalination facilities, however, the main reason apparently being lack of need. Until recently, "the fresh water supply has never been at enough risk to warrant the expense of building and operating a seawater desal plant," explains Kevin Price, advanced water treatment research coordinator for BuRec. The cost of fresh water in California, for example, is currently about $900 per acre/ft, and the cost of desalinated water is about $1,500 per acre/ft. One acre/ft equals 325,869 gal (1,233,548 liters).
Even with this price difference, the drought-prone coastal deserts of Southern California have spent more than 20 years eying access to the world's largest reservoir, the Pacific Ocean. At last, one desalination project is on track to commercial productivity in the city of Carlsbad in San Diego County. Poseidon Resources (Stamford, Conn.) received final approval on Nov. 29, 2012, for its Carlsbad Desalination Project. The privately financed plant could supply up to 50 MGD (189,250 m3/day) of potable water for 300,000 San Diegans, providing the county with up to 10 percent of its water. Poseidon also is designing a 50-MGD (189,250-m3/day) SWRO plant at Huntington Beach in Orange County, Calif. If permits are granted by the end of 2013, the plant could be operational by 2015.
In Europe
To date, the largest desalination plant in Europe is an SWRO facility in El Prat del Llobregat (Barcelona, Spain), with a freshwater capacity of 52.8 MGD (200,000 m3/day). Built by Aguas de Barcelona (Agbar, Barcelona, Spain) and Degrémont Iberia (Bilboa, Spain) under contracts from the public utility Aigües ter Llobregat (ATLL), the plant has been operational since July 2009. It has the capacity to supply drinking water to about 1.5 million inhabitants in the region — almost 20 percent of the population. However, production depends on the total water in reservoirs, and as CT went to press, the plant was producing only 14 MGD (52,000 m3/day).
A total of 17,192 spiral-wound polyamide composite membrane elements were provided by Hydranautics (Oceanside, Calif.). Seven membranes are encased in each of 2,456 pressure vessels measuring 8-inches (202 mm) ID by 301.7 inches (7,663 mm) long and filament wound by Protec Arisawa Europe (Mungia, Spain) to meet the ASME pressure vessel code. Protec winds its vessels using E-glass and epoxy resin. Protec's custom multiple-port technology provides an end port for fresh product water, a side port for feed water and another side port for discharge of concentrate.
Seawater is brought into the pumping station from 2,500m/8,202 ft out in the Mediterranean Sea through two 1,800-mm/71-inch diameter polyethylene pipes. A 2,000-mm/79-inch diameter FRP pipe then carries the feed water into the plant. FRP pipes and fittings were made by Protecciones Plasticas (Protesa, Barcelona, Spain) via continuous filament winding, using glass fiber and corrosion-resistant Atlac bisphenol A-based vinyl ester urethane resin from DSM Composite Resins (Schaffhausen, Switzerland).
Skimming the surface
Like a rock skipping across a still lake, this overview merely touches the surface of this huge and, without doubt, growing market. Its complexities, alternative technologies, expanding markets and opportunities for the use of composites go far beyond seawater reclamation. It's a market that CT will watch and report on in greater depth as developments dictate.
Related Topics
A hidden revolution: composite rebar gains strength
Fiber-reinforced plastic (FRP) replacing coated steel in more reinforced-concrete applications.
The first commercial Type V composite pressure vessel
Composites Technology Development's first commercial tank in the Type V category presages growth of filament winding in storage of compressed gases.
Ceramic-matrix composites heat up
Lightweight, hard and stable at high temperatures, CMCs are emerging from two decades of study and development into commercial applications.


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Article: Integration of Biosensors and Drug Delivery Technologies for Early Detection and Chronic Management of Illness
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To celebrate the Blu-ray release of The Croods, which comes to Blu-ray and DVD on October 1st, I will be hosting a Croods Indoor Adventure Party the last weekend in September. As an FHE Insider, I'll be receiving a party pack and the movie to watch. I'm a big kid at heart and am just as excited as the little ones to watch The Croods. I'm going to invite several of my nieces and nephews over to watch the movie on Blu-ray and we'll also be doing a bunch of activities.
Before we watch the movie, I'm going to pump the kids up with The Croods activity sheets. We'll be wearing cutout masks of our favorite characters. During and after the movie we'll be chowing down on caveman themed snacks. I've been searching Pinterest for ideas, and have come across a few that will definitely work for the theme of the party.
I encourage you to host your own indoor adventure party for The Croods. You can right-click and print out the masks and activity sheets on this post to get your party started. I'll post details of my party in the next couple weeks, so stay tuned!
One person will win The Croods on Blu-ray and a plush Croods critter.
*This is a Rafflecopter giveaway open to residents of USA and Canada.*
a Rafflecopter giveaway


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It took Soundgarden a full 10 songs before it began to flex its muscles at the Fox Theater on Tuesday night, before the band dialed in and proved what out-and-out Badmotorfingers the four musicians can be. I doubt that the enamored (and now half-deaf) crowd leaving the Fox would have agreed with me on this point about the band's early setlist sluggishness. Soundgarden delivered in a big way, and you would have been hard-tasked to find an audience member complaining after the dynamic, eardrum-crippling, 27- song performance.
Even still, the band languished a bit in that first third of the set, partly a result of a muddy sound mix that rendered hard-charging classics like "Flower" and "Jesus Christ Pose" to just a massive rumble. But mostly, it was the stream of tracks off of its painfully tepid new album, King Animal, that kept the early set surprisingly disjointed.
Yes, you'd be inclined to think that a Soundgarden album titled King Animal might infer some epically heavy songs, the growl of some primordial beast lurching forth from the muck of Puget Sound. Instead, it's a creature without teeth, a ho-hum late career effort (think Jane's Addiction's Strays or the Stooges' The Weirdness), with long odds on breaking its rusty cage.
So it wasn't until Soundgarden delved into the snarl and sludge of "Nothing to Say" – off its fledgling 1988 debut Screaming Life/Fopp album – that the band tapped into its nerve center, of biting Black Sabbath riffs hooked around a punk mindset, to the sound of a band formed by a city with a heavy heroin addiction and a weather forecast of perpetual rain.
"Nothing to Say" stood out as the tipping point, and the band soon gained its momentum, mostly from a big section of Down on the Upside crowd pleasers that took the lion's share of the spotlight during the latter part of the set – "Pretty Noose," "Burden in My Hand," "Ty Cobb," "Blow Up the Outside World," and the lesser known "Tighter and Tighter."
Nearing the end of its North American tour dates, Soundgarden is in serious fighting form these days, a spectacle to watch from song to song, from individual members to the collective sum: Kim Thayil's livewire guitar work amid Ben Sheperd's hefty bass lines, all set against Matt Cameron's furious backbeat. At 48, Chris Cornell's voice is still (amazingly) in formidable shape, seeming to gain greater strength as the night wore on.
The band closed with a stunning five-song encore of classic tracks – "Black Hole Sun," "Mailman," "Hands All Over," "Superunknown" – that brought the place to a fever pitch by the time it reached "Rusty Cage" to end the night.
Cornell sang the final verse in a wailing falsetto that tested the limits of the house sound system, as the band pushed and pulled the song to its crashing close, finally driving home what it really means by King Animal.


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Stamp Camp: Smooch
Viewer Comments
I would like to see this in a CD/DVD with more techniques on how to use these colors while I'm working I could put into CD/DVD player. Thank you
More Smooch! I love the smooch but also have the Spritz and would love a webisode on the Smooch Spritz. They are wildly popular and may warrent another show.
So nice to see Sara again. I miss her so much. I remember this webisode from when it first aired. Got me hooked on Smooch. LOL Hope to see Sara back again soon!!!
I just loved this webisode. I had seen this demonstrated at a craft show I attended but nothing like yours which gave us so many ideas. Loved seeing Sara also... Can hardly wait to try this product.
Ohhhhhh, so good to see Sarah again. Will she ever be back....? The others are good but there's no one like Sarah! Loved the Smooch too! Thanks for the instructions on how to use it.
I LOVE your webisodes! I've learned so much and especially appreciate seeing the detail.
I want to go smooching really soon :)
I discovered Smooch last Christmas and used the gold to highlight our embossed "Thank you" notes I made with a Cuttlebug embossing folder of Christmas tree ornaments. You need a steady hand for outlining the embossed outline.
I had seen Smooch in the craft stores but really didn't pay any attention to them. Now that I've seen these techniques & ideas I have to try them!
I love this stuff! this is a great product, can't wait to get my own to play with, It's so good to see Sarah again:)
It was great to see Sara again. Thanks so much for giving us a demo on the Smooch. I saw an ad for the product a few months back but with no local scrapbook stores in the area, it's hard to find out what it's good for. I love this.
I love seeing Sara on the webisodes again!
Thanks for the tutorial. I was so impressed that I bought all 10. A great value! I can't wait to start playing with them.pipe
LOVE having Sara back for Stamp Camp- you two have such chemistry together and we feel like we are part of the party. Can't wait to see what is next on this wonderful WOW!
Sara, just like you I thought this was simply a gimmick. Boy was I wrong. I am inspired.
I love smooch. I got most of them and use them in my scrapbooking. They are great for outlining, filling in and making embellishing marks on your page. Thanks for more great ideas on using my smooch.
Not only did we see a great Webisode -- excellent ideas -- (do you think we could do the swirly paper idea with Alcohol inks too?) --, but got to see Sara too - really do miss her.
Thank you again for sharing wonderful ideas!
It was so nice to see Sara again. Paulette and Sara make a super team. Sure wish they could do all the webisodes. I can't wait until I get my order of smooch.
Paullet & Sara you both have so much wonderful talent, and I just wanted to say thank you 4 sharing it with us, you r a part of my everyday life.
I have been racking my brain to figure out what I wanted to do for Christmas. Now I know!!! I have to confess that I felt the same way as Sara about the smooch when they came out a few years ago! Boy, I was wrong. Thanks for the great weisode.
Paper Wishes Weekly Webisodes feature free scrapbooking video classes and card making video classes! Every week Paulette and LeNae bring you new online scrapbooking or card making classes demonstrating the very latest paper craft and scrapbooking techniques. Each of our free card making and scrapbooking classes also gives you unique project ideas and tips from Paper Wishes' Design Team. Come back often so you don't miss any of the fun in our card making and scrapbooking classes! You are sure to be inspired! Also watch for our "Week of Webisodes" events where we feature new scrapbooking video classes daily!


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Pablo Sandoval In 2011: Sink Or Swim?
By Tommy Rancel //
Despite having just over two seasons under his rather large belt, Pablo Sandoval has seen the ups and downs of the major leagues. The Kung-Fu Panda made his debut for San Francisco in 2008, hitting .345/.357/.490 in an abbreviated 41-game rookie season. In his first full season at the big league level, he hit .330/.387/.559 with 25 home runs, 44 doubles, and somehow legged out five triples. For his efforts, he was rewarded with a top-10 finish in the 2009 National League MVP vote – placing seventh. Sandoval entered the 2010 season as a 23-year-old with a career batting average of .333 in over 700 at-bats. Then the season started…
Not only was Sandoval unable to replicate his 2009 success, but he did not even come close. In 152 games, he posted a slash line of .268/.323/.409. His home run total was pretty much cut in half (13), and he drove in just 63 runners compared to the 90 from the previous year. By season's end, he was replaced by Juan Uribe in the lineup and totaled just 19 plate appearances in the playoffs as the Giants' marched to a World Series title Such a steep drop-off for a player with Sandoval's experience immediately brings up the word fluke. However, when looking past his fantasy stats, there are not many signs of fluke.
In terms of plate discipline, he was still a free swinger last season, but did not rack up a ton of strikeouts. He walk rate declined a bit, however, nothing substantial. Overall, he displayed the same patience as he did in 2009. In terms of batted ball data, he hit about the same number of line drives as well as ground and flyballs.
The areas where he experienced steep regression were batting average on balls in play and home run-to-flyball ratio. He was unlikely to be a career .330 hitter anyway so some correction was expected. In terms of the HR/FB issue, he might have regressed a bit too much leaving the potential for positive regression in the future.
With similar peripherals yet differerent results over the past two seasons, what can we expect in 2011? Another near-MVP caliber season or another mostly disappointing and average campaign?
According to Bloomberg Sports' projections, Sandoval should fall right in between. Our projections peg the Panda with a .293 average and an OPS of .825. In terms of power, the system projects him to once again top the 20 home run plateau with a steady dose of doubles mixed in.
After the season, Sandoval was told to lose weight by Giants' management or face a demotion to the minors. We don't know if he is the best shape of his life, but reports say he is in much better condition than he was a few months ago. In addition to working with trainers, he has also picked the mind of Giants' great Barry Bonds about improving his swing and plate approach.
With the fresh stench of his 2010 lingering on some draft boards, Sandoval may linger around a bit longer than his true value. That said, he becomes a prime target in the mid-rounds as a bounce back sleeper with multi-position flexibility.