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Silk Road Medical Announces Proposed Public Offering of Common Stock
SUNNYVALE, Calif., Aug. 06, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Silk Road Medical, Inc. (Nasdaq: SILK) ("Silk Road Medical"), a company focused on reducing the risk of stroke and its devastating impact, announced today the commencement of a proposed underwritten public offering of 3,500,000 shares of its common stock by certain selling stockholders. In addition, certain selling stockholders expect to grant the underwriters a 30-day option to purchase an additional 525,000 shares of its common stock in the offering. Silk Road Medical will not receive any of the proceeds from the sale of the shares of its common stock being offered by the selling stockholders. The proposed offering is subject to market and other conditions, and there can be no assurance as to whether or when the offering may be completed, or as to the actual size or terms of the offering.
J.P. Morgan Securities LLC and BofA Merrill Lynch are acting as joint book-running managers for the offering. BMO Capital Markets and Stifel are acting as co-managers for the offering.
A registration statement on Form S-1 relating to these securities has been filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission but has not yet become effective. These securities may not be sold nor may offers to buy these securities be accepted prior to the time the registration statement becomes effective.
The offering will be made only by means of a prospectus. A copy of the preliminary prospectus relating to this offering may be obtained from: J.P. Morgan Securities LLC, Attention: Broadridge Financial Solutions, 1155 Long Island Avenue, Edgewood, NY 11717 or by email: prospectus-eq_fi@jpmchase.com; or BofA Merrill Lynch, NC1-004-03-43, 200 North College Street, 3rd Floor, Charlotte, NC 28255-0001, Attention: Prospectus Department, or by email: dg.prospectus_requests@baml.com.
This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy these securities, nor shall there be any sale of these securities in any state or other jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to the registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such state or other jurisdiction.
About Silk Road Medical
Silk Road Medical, Inc. is a medical device company located in Sunnyvale, California, that is focused on reducing the risk of stroke and its devastating impact. The company has pioneered a new approach for the treatment of carotid artery disease called TransCarotid Artery Revascularization (TCAR). TCAR is a clinically proven procedure combining surgical principles of neuroprotection with minimally invasive endovascular techniques to treat blockages in the carotid artery at risk of causing a stroke.
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements include statements regarding an offering of Silk Road Medical's common stock. Such statements are based on current assumptions that involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual outcomes and results to differ materially. These risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond our control, include risks described in the section entitled Risk Factors in the preliminary prospectus related to this offering filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date hereof and should not be unduly relied upon. Silk Road Medical disclaims any obligation to update these forward-looking statements.
Lynn Lewis or Carrie Mendivil
Gilmartin Group
investors@silkroadmed.com
Joni Ramirez
Merryman Communications
joni@merrymancommunications.com


If these were loans, the equivalent interest rate would be between 50% and 150%. There's lots of fine print in the ads and in contracts, and many consumers just don't realise the full cost.
With a typical plan, you might make monthly payments for two years before buying the appliance at a listed cash price. Consumer Reports found that some of these plans end up costing consumers hundreds of dollars more over time than just paying for the item outright.
It's a classic debt trap, and one that they explain more in the linked article below.
No different to buying a house with mortgage vs cash. Maybe that's the way your cash flows.... can't afford it outright, but can afford a lower, albeit usurous, sum on a monthly basis. The alternatives are not necessarily a desirable option - twice weekly launderette, milk crates, or old mattress on the floor for example..
But for some things, if you're not too ambitious, there are numerous 2nd hand options available much cheaper.
Of course it's a rort. Anyone who thinks otherwise is a fool.
But these schemes are mostly targeting the same market as pay-day loans. Such people either don't have the lump sum to buy outright or access to low-rate finance. Their options are 1) don't have the appliance, or 2) get it on punitive credit. The choices are shonky "rental" schemes or some other high interest loan. Either way, they're not going to get a good deal and the debt cycle is perpetuated.
Being informed is fine, but sadly won't alter the above.
In Australian there are a number of organisations (such as Good Shepherd Microfinance) that offer no/low interest loans for the purchase of basic household appliances for the genuinely needy - so maybe not the core group of Lifehacker readers! Organisations like these don't advertise (obviously). Worth knowing about to assist those genuinely in need.


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Tagging Project
Midwest Photographers Project
Friends of MoCP
Columbia College Chicago Faculty
About the MoCP
The Snider Prize
Tours & Print Viewings
Keyword, Artist, or Print Media
Viewing Record 44 of 47 family
Untitled #2451
Weems, Carrie Mae
frame: 28 in x 28 in
Museum purchase
A simple kitchen table and an overhead lamp serve as the setting for the mother-daughter drama played out in Carrie Mae Weems's untitled triptych. These pictures form a chapter of her larger Kitchen Table Series, a cinematic grouping of twenty photographs that stars the artist in an invented love story that revolves around a woman's identity in relation to her male partner and child. Weems, known for her sometimes biting use of humor, employs narrative structures, a choreographed cast of props and characters, and a variety of media to explore and explode stereotypes of race and gender. Her resulting photographs, videos, and installations usually reconfigure old photographs, sculptures, and artifacts that comprise the physical record of African American culture in order to make new works that comment on racism and difficult topics seldom addressed in mainstream media.
Carrie Mae Weems was born in Portland, Oregon in 1953. She received her BA from the California Institute of the Arts, Valencia (1981), her MFA from the University of California, San Diego (1984), and studied in the Graduate Program in Folklore at the University of California at Berkeley (1984-87). Since then Weems has been active as a teacher and an artist, and is the recipient of numerous fellowships and residencies. Weems's photographs have been exhibited in one-person exhibitions at the Dakar Biennia, Dakar, Senegal; Institute of Contemporary Art, Philadelphia; National Museum of Women in the Arts, Washington, DC; Museum of Modern Art, New York; Sarah Moody Gallery of Art, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa; and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.
UntitledWeems, Carrie Mae1994
All images published by the Museum of Contemporary Photography within this website are copyright of the artist and are for educational, personal, and/or noncommercial use only. For any other use, please contact ktaylor@colum.edu.
© 2020 Museum of Contemporary Photography at Columbia College Chicago
Museum of Contemporary Photography
at Columbia College Chicago
Sunday: 12:00—5:00 pm
The MoCP is CLOSED when Columbia College Chicago is closed, including all major holidays. The MoCP is also closed between exhibitions for installation. Be sure to check our homepage before your visit.
Provide your email address, and we'll send you a new password.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


A completely unexpected delight which has stemmed from creating this little blog has been opening up my 'WordPress Reader' each morning to discover what my newly-found blogging friends from around the world have been creating in their own kitchens. Their musings, recipes and photos are at once delicious and provide more inspiration and encouragement than they can possibly imagine. For this, I thank you all dearly! You so frequently bring a smile to my face, illuminate light bulbs in my mind and bring calm to my heart in the knowledge that I'm not alone in this passion for all things food related. It's like discovering a family out there, that I never new I had!
If I can encourage even a small number of families out there to give more thought as to how they nourish their children, I'll be accomplishing what I set out to do… It's hard not to become despondent at times when you see what others are placing into their supermarket trolleys or see the number of people queuing up for the drive-through of fast food outlets. I have a vivid and still quite sickening picture in my head of watching a toddler sit down, diagonally across from me, on a 9am internal flight within the USA and be handed a cheese-burger to eat (for his breakfast!?). Apart from being offended by the unnatural smell wafting through the cabin at that time of morning, I also felt a deep sense of anger and incomprehension towards the mother – she was allowing her poor innocent child to grow up believing this to be normal. I do realise that this child at least had something going into his stomach, which may not be a daily certainty for all the children of the world; but if getting up a little earlier to have breakfast at home wasn't an option, perhaps a piece of fresh fruit or a granola/muesli bar from one of the other airport food outlets might have been a wiser choice.
Our family enjoyed the following dish over the weekend just gone – I was proud of our eldest child who drizzled some of the yoghurt dressing over his lamb (hooray!), though the youngest opted for some tomato sauce instead (thankfully not so much for the lamb, but for the roasted kipfler potatoes that he's still not quite sure if he likes…) C'est la vie!
In a small mixing bowl, combine the olive oil, garlic and herbs. Season the lamb generously on both sides with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, then rub all over with the marinade. Cover and place in the fridge for at least a few hours or if possible overnight.
If, like me, you prefer to bring the lamb to room temperature before cooking, remove from the fridge approximately an hour in advance of when you wish to commence cooking.
Pre-heat the barbecue to about 220°C. Grill the lamb for a few minutes on each side until nicely coloured, then turn down the heat to 180°C and continue cooking for another 15 – 20 minutes (depending on the size of your lamb), or until cooked to your liking.
Rest the meat for approximately 10 minutes, before slicing.
Serve with Yoghurt Dressing, roasted potatoes/veggies and some lightly-steamed greens. A fresh salad and crusty bread would also be wonderful if you're lucky enough to be heading into summer!
Mix all ingredients together in a mixing bowl. Cover and place in the fridge for an hour or two before serving to allow all the wonderful flavours to infuse the yoghurt.
Other cuts of lamb will work equally well in this recipe – just be sure to adjust the cooking time to the thickness and cut of your meat.
The choice of herbs is interchangeable as well – though I find that when grilling on the barbecue – thyme and rosemary (along with the garlic) combine so incredibly well with lamb.
This entry was posted in Cooking, Food, Greek Food, Lamb Dishes, Mains, Recipes and tagged Barbecued Lamb, Gather and Graze, Greek Lamb, Yoghurt Dressing on 27/05/2013 by Gather and Graze.
Looks beautiful and yogurt and lamb were made for each other!
Hi Laura, thanks so much for your kind thoughts! It's one of those great recipes that allows you to do all the prep well before dinner and then sit back while it's cooking with a glass of wine… Bliss! I so look forward to each and every one of your posts – they are a joy to read and you take such beautiful photos to go with them! This blogging world is pretty fabulous… I'm so pleased I finally took the leap to join it!
Hi Margot, that looks delicious, your kids are lucky if they get to eat like this all the time!


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Find Who has Access to your Google Drive Files and Folders
The files and folders in your Google Drive are private by default until you decide to share them. You can share your documents with specific people or you can make them public and anyone on the Internet can view the shared files. Google Apps users have the option to share files and folders within the organization while restricting access to anyone outside the domain.
You can not only control who has access to your Google Drive files but can also assign the level of access they have on the shared files. You can set the access permissions to either view (read only) or edit (read & write). For instance, if you are to send a large file, you can upload the file to Google Drive and share it in view-mode with the recipient.
https://youtube.com/watch?v=f7ojczgypiA
Who Can View or Edit your Drive Files
You may have a number of documents, spreadsheets and other files in your Google Drive that are accessible to other users. These users could be your contacts, someone within your Google Apps domain or some of the shared files could be public meaning they are available to anyone on the web who have the link (URL) to the file.
Would you like to know which files and folders in your Google Drive are shared with other users and what kind of access permissions they have on your files? Google Drive, unfortunately, doesn't offer an easy option for you to figure out who you are sharing the files with either inside or outside your organization.
Meet Permissions Auditor for Google Drive, a new Google add-on that scans your entire Drive and then generates a comprehensive report revealing who has access to your shared files and what kind of permission they have on the files. If you have been collaborating with people for some time, the Drive Auditor is probably is the easiest way to find out what you've shared in Google Drive and sanitize it.
Here's a sample audit report.
Google Drive - File Permissions Report
Getting started is easy. First, install the Google Drive Auditor add-on and authorize it. Internally, this is a Google Script that runs inside your Google Account, reads the files found in Google Drive and writes their access details in the spreadsheet. Not a single byte of data every leaves your Google Account.
Watch the video tutorial for a more detailed guide.
After the Drive Audit add-on is installed, go to the Add-ons menu inside the Google Spreadsheet, choose Drive Permissions Auditor and select Start Audit. It will open a sidebar where you need to specify a query and all matching files that match the query will be analyzed by the add-on.
Some sample Google Drive Search queries include:
"me" in owners and trashed = false (all files owned by except those in trash)
modifiedTime > '2016-01-01T12:00:00' (file modified since Jan 2016 UTC)
mimeType = 'application/vnd.google-apps.spreadsheet' (scan the access permissions of only Google Spreadsheets in my Google Drive)
Once the audit is complete, the report will reveal detailed information of every file including:
When was a file created and last modified
What is the file size and MIME type (file extension)
Who is the owner of the file
Who has edit, view and comment permissions on the file
Where is the file located in Google Drive
You can click the File Name in the spreadsheet to directly open the corresponding file in Google Drive. Also, you can use the find function or even filters in Google Spreadsheets to display specific files that match a certain criteria. For instance, if you wish to know about all files that are public, you can apply a filter on the Access column in the spreadsheet.
The Drive Permissions Auditor add-on works for both Gmail and Google Apps accounts. If you are a domain administrator, you can install the Drive Audit add-on for all users in your domain through the Google Apps Marketplace.
The add-on is free and lets you audit up to 200 files in your Google Drive. If you have more files, please upgrade to the premium edition and analyze every single file and folder in your Google Drive.
Bonus tip: Did you know that you can set an auto-expiry date for your shared links in Google Drive. The shared link will automatically stop working after a certain date or time set by you.
GSuiteGoogle Driveprivacy


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focus review
Anti-fouling behavior of polymer brush immobilized surfaces
On the mechanism of marine fouling-prevention performance of oil-containing silicone elastomers
Stefan Kolle, Onyemaechi Ahanotu, … Joanna Aizenberg
Terpolymer resin containing bioinspired borneol and controlled release of camphor: Synthesis and antifouling coating application
Jiankun Hu, Baoku Sun, … Hailong Zhang
All-organic superhydrophobic coatings with mechanochemical robustness and liquid impalement resistance
Chaoyi Peng, Zhuyang Chen & Manish K. Tiwari
Poly(ether sulfone)-based ultrafiltration membranes using chitosan/ammonium chloride to enhance permeability and antifouling properties
Fitri Khoerunnisa, Marthini Sihombing, … Pakorn Opaprakasit
Pulsed hydraulic-pressure-responsive self-cleaning membrane
Yang Zhao, Yuna Gu, … Guandao Gao
Conformational flexibility of fatty acid-free bovine serum albumin proteins enables superior antifouling coatings
Gamaliel Junren Ma, Abdul Rahim Ferhan, … Nam-Joon Cho
Bio-inspired superhydrophilic coatings with high anti-adhesion against mineral scales
Tianzhan Zhang, Yuefeng Wang, … Shutao Wang
Biomimetic antibiofouling oil infused honeycomb films fabricated using breath figures
Ryunosuke Shimura, Hiroya Abe, … Chihiro Inoue
One-step synthesis of a steel-polymer wool for oil-water separation and absorption
Ali T. Abdulhussein, Ganesh K. Kannarpady & Alexandru S. Biris
Polymer Surface and Interfaces
Yuji Higaki1,2,3,
Motoyasu Kobayashi1 nAff4,
Daiki Murakami1,2 &
Atsushi Takahara1,2,3
Polymer Journal volume 48, pages 325–331 (2016)Cite this article
Polymer brushes have been utilized as a proper model interface for the investigation of wetting, lubrication, hydrated chain dimension and the structure of hydrated water at hydrated polymer interfaces. Zwitterionic polyelectrolyte-tethered surfaces represent significant anti-fouling materials for bio-macromolecules, marine fouling organisms and pipeline foulants. Systematic anti-fouling tests for various polymer brushes were performed to demonstrate the critical factors for universal anti-fouling properties. In this focused review, material design concepts and recent progress on anti-fouling polymer materials are reviewed, and our recent research on anti-fouling studies using polymer brushes is provided.
Material design for anti-fouling
Material interfaces are always exposed to the threat of foreign substance adhesion. Materials lose their original interfacial performance following coverage by foulants. The deposition accumulates to immediately lead to a serious impact on the materials. Thus, anti-fouling is a conventional yet markedly important research subject in the medical and industrial fields. Medical devices that contact human blood are required to prevent protein adsorption and blood cell adhesion, which trigger an organism's defense cascade system.1 Marine organism settlement leads to reductions in both fuel efficiency and navigation performance of ocean vessels as well as the deterioration in heat exchange capacity of seawater cooling systems in thermal and atomic power plants.2, 3, 4 Pipeline fouling is a crucial problem in the petroleum industry because it reduces the transportation efficiency and generates maintenance costs.5 Biocide releasing coatings and the addition of surface-active agents are extremely effective but generate adverse effects on the environment, and these coatings are not applicable to medical devices and implantable artificial organs. Therefore, non-toxic anti-fouling technologies without active chemicals have garnered interest in both the medical and industrial fields.
The adhesion of foreign substances to polymeric material surfaces is dictated by their chemical, physical and mechanical parameters. Four mechanisms are regarded as the common mechanisms for foulant adhesion, including (1) chemical bonding, (2) electromagnetic interactions and physical adsorption, (3) mechanical inter-locking and (4) surface rearrangement.6 Nonpolar surfaces without dipolar, ionic or reactive functional groups as well as conformationally mobile dynamic surfaces prevent attractive electromagnetic interactions based on surface charge and van der Waals forces and their reactions with foreign substances. The interpenetration of foulants into surface cavities on rough and porous materials allows adhesion in the absence of chemical compatibility. Contact with bio-adhesives causes surface rearrangement in both topography and chemical components to lead to temporary adhesive micro-defects that may then accumulate foulants. Therefore, 'non-polar, chemically inert, neutral charged surfaces that are conformationally mobile but stable in topography and chemical component at the foulant interface with smooth and impenetrable geometry' have been recognized as the general approach for versatile anti-fouling surfaces. However, recent studies indicate that the composite structure at the material interface, including hydrated polymer chains, the hydrogen-bonded network structure of hydrated water and local chain dynamics has been recognized as a key factor for biofouling and fouling release in wet conditions.7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 Moreover, the appropriate combination of surface topography and dynamic liquids is proposed as a new concept for low adhesive, slippery surfaces.13
Bio-mimetic anti-fouling strategies
The bio-mimetic approach is a recent trend in material design for biocompatible and non-toxic anti-fouling materials. The current bio-mimetic anti-fouling strategies can be divided into two main categories: (i) microtopography and (ii) lubricant retention.
Microtopography is one of the nature-inspired, non-toxic anti-fouling strategies, as it is found in nature as a defense system against biofouling.14, 15, 16 Shark skin and clam shells are representative examples, and these systems demonstrated effectiveness for barnacles,17 algae18 and bacteria adhesion. While the anti-fouling mechanism has not been elucidated, surface wettability, surface fluid dynamics and attachment point reduction have been cited as potential factors to account for the improved anti-fouling performance.2 When fouling substances are much larger than the surface texture, the topographic surface exhibits reduced adhesion strength due to the reduction of attachment points. Thus, multi-scale topographic surfaces are necessary to give versatile anti-fouling performance because of the broad size range of fouling substances. However, the surface energy and mechanical properties of the microtopographic surfaces must be optimized depending on the target foulants.
Secretion and subsequent retention of a lubricant is the other anti-fouling strategy in nature. The retention of slippery low-surface-tension oils or hydrophilic proteoglycan aggregates induce the repulsion of foreign foulants as well as self-cleaning properties. This anti-fouling strategy is found in mollusk shells, the Nepenthes pitcher plant, fish skin and articular cartilage. The lubricant components are retained on the substrate by wetting into topographical surface textures or by grafting to substrates through chemical bonds or electromagnetic interactions. The Nepenthes pitcher plant uses microtopographic textures to retain an aqueous lubricant liquid that makes insects slide down into the dining site by repelling the oils on their feet.19 Aizenberg and colleagues13 proposed that synthetic low adhesive surfaces be named 'slippery liquid-infused porous surfaces', which consist of lubricating liquids retained on a microporous substrate infused by conditioning solid and liquid surface energies. The infusion of low-surface-tension perfluorinated liquids into fluorinated nano-texture affords a highly stable, defect-free liquid film that repels oils, insects and ice.20, 21, 22 Recently, a non-fluorinated oleophilic slippery surface was also reported.23 Articular cartilages consist of a collagen fiber substrate and surface-tethered bottle-brush structure chains of hyaluronic acid with proteoglycan side chains. The proteoglycan subunits are hydrated to give a hydrogel-like swollen lubrication layer along with the joint synovia.1 While the lubrication mechanism has not been clearly demonstrated, it is generally believed to involve 'elasto-hydrodynamic lubrication (EHL)'.24 The highly hydrated polyelectrolyte surface layer leads to the formation of a fluid lubrication film at the interface of the friction probe and the swollen polyelectrolyte layer. Although low-viscosity liquids hardly encourage fluid film formation, the high viscosity of a hydrated polyelectrolyte layer induces a fluid lubrication film with the support of the existing viscous joint synovia.
Anti-fouling characteristics of polymer brushes
Because the adhesion of foreign substances involves various factors, each parameter must be separated to obtain further insight into the anti-fouling mechanisms. The polymer brush, that is, a surface-tethered polymer layer, is a proper model interface of polymeric soft materials. Recent developments in controlled radical polymerization techniques allow the preparation of high-density polymer brushes, where the polymer chains are densely grafted onto the substrate, to make the so called 'high-density polymer brushes'.25 The simultaneous initiation and controlled growth from surface-immobilized initiators afford high-density surface-tethered polymer chains with controlled molecular weight and molecular weight distribution to yield a highly homogeneous polymer layer without serious defects. Because the chain end is covalently bound to the substrate, the surface-tethered polymer chains do not fall off by friction or washing, and they stay on the substrate even under good solvent.
Because of their stretched chain conformation, high-density brushes in solvent, in particular, exhibit unique surface properties compared with low-density brushes. The thickness depends on the balance between the osmotic pressure induced by the neighboring chains and the elastic restoring force of the polymer chains. High-density chain grafting promotes chain stretching due to the large osmotic pressure. Therefore, the high-density polymer brushes on Si substrates can be regarded as a model interface for the polymeric material to be applied to precise structural and spectroscopic analysis, while they contain their own features derived from the high-density grafting. For precise interface characterization, well-defined polymer brushes without serious defects are required because the irregularities of the polymer interface induced by the molecular weight distribution and topological defects obscure the interface structure and dynamics. Fabrication of polymer brushes onto resin and/or coating surfaces have been reported, and the similar performance can be introduced into the material surfaces.26, 27, 28, 29, 30
There are many reports of anti-fouling polymer brush surfaces for proteins, cells and organisms.31, 32, 33, 34, 35 The adsorption processes are diverse, but there are common principles for the non-fouling performance of hydrophilic polymer brushes. In the following sections, some of the principles are introduced.
Wettability and oil repellency of polyelectrolyte brushes in aqueous solution
One of the most attractive aspects of polymer brushes is the simple modification of their surface characteristics by choosing the chemical structure of the surface-grafted polymers. For instance, water and hexadecane droplets on fluorinated polymer brushes show high contact angles, while water-soluble or hydrophilic polymer brushes afford the hydrophilic surfaces without any change in the bulk performance of the substrates.36 Particularly, polyelectrolyte brushes, such as poly(methacrylic acid sodium salt) (PMANa), poly(2-methacryloyloxyethyl)trimethylammonium chloride) (PMTAC) and poly[3-(2-methacryloyloxyethyl-N,N-dimethyl)ammonatopropanesulfonate] (PMAPS) showed low water contact angles of ~10°. Poly(3-sulfopropyl methacrylate potassium salt) (PSPMK) and poly(2-methacryloyloxyethyl phosphorylcholine) (PMPC) wet the water especially well to generate extremely low contact angles of <3°. The chemical structures and abbreviations of the non-ionic and ionic polymer brushes described in this paper are shown in Figure 1. Excellent hydrophilicity is maintained over long periods by grafting the ionic polymers, although surface modifications by corona discharge treatment or plasma treatment immediately lose their effects. It is particularly difficult to maintain the hydrophilicity of the materials with a low glass transition temperature (Tg), for example, polyolefins, because of the surface rearrangement. Kobayashi et al.26 reported preparation of the zwitterionic PMPC brushes on bromo-functionalized polyolefine sheets by surface-initiated atom transfer radical polymerization. They found that the PMPC brush immobilized sheets retained a low water contact angle of <10° under atmospheric conditions over 3 years after surface modification.
Chemical structures and abbreviations of polymer brushes.
Although polyelectrolyte brushes exhibit extremely low water contact angles, a water droplet does not wet the surface completely. Partial wetting with a finite contact angle is usually observed, even if the brushes are water-soluble polymers. The wetting of water on the polyelectrolyte brushes cannot be simply explained by the local equilibrium at the three-phase contact line but, instead, involves the hydration enthalpy of the polyelectrolyte brushes37 as well as a thin hydrated layer existing beneath and around the water droplet. High spatial resolution microscopic infrared (IR) spectroscopy demonstrated that water molecules outside the droplet were confined to the thin hydrated brush layer with a highly ordered hydrogen-bonding network, that is, ice-like structured water, which is discussed again in the following section.38 The hydrated thin film with structured water changes the surface and interfacial free energies of polyelectrolyte brushes, thus preventing the complete wetting of water. Therefore, the accurate surface free energy of the polyelectrolyte brushes cannot be simply obtained by the contact angles of probe liquids. The surface free energies of the polymer brushes were tentatively estimated by a three-liquid acid−base method proposed by van Oss, Chaudhury and Good.
As mentioned in the section above, hydrophilic surfaces in nature achieve their own self-cleaning system, which is applicable to artificial hydrophilic polymer brush surfaces. The anionic PSPMK and zwitterionic PMPC brushes show extremely low contact angles (<3°) for both water and hexadecane in air, indicating that super-hydrophilic surfaces receive oily foulant adhesion under dry conditions. In contrast, hydrophilic polymer brushes repel oils in de-ionized water, indicating excellent anti-fouling in wet conditions. The polyelectrolyte brushes were wet with water to reduce the interfacial free energy to yield a hydrated polyelectrolyte brush layer. The silicone oil that was spread on the polyelectrolyte brush surfaces in air quickly beaded up and detached from the brushes once they were immersed in water, as shown in Figure 2. The work of adhesion (WOWS) in water for the silicone oil on the hydrated polyelectrolyte brushes, such as PSPMK and PMPC, was calculated to be <0.06 mN m−1 using the contact angle of the oil (>173°). The low adhesion force between the hydrated polyelectrolyte brushes and oils is attributed to the conformational mobility and lower volume fraction of solid components in the swollen brush layers. The stable hydration shell prevents foreign objects from approaching the polymer chains, and the defect-free fluid layer blocks the attachment of foulants.
Droplet images with contact angle (θ) and work of adhesion (WOWS) in silicone oil (5.0 μl, KF-96-100CS, Shin-Etsu Chemical Co., Tokyo, Japan) on (a) PSPMK and (b) PFA-C8 brushes in water, and (c) schematic representation for the definition of surface and interfacial free energies of an oil droplet on polymer brushes in water. The interfacial free energies for oil–water, water–solid and solid–oil are described as γOW, γSW and γSO, respectively.
In contrast, the fluorinated polymer brush, poly(2-perfluorooctylethyl acrylate) (PFA-C8) exhibited a large contact angle of water and oil in air, indicating that it repels both hydrophilic and oleophilic foreign substances. However, air bubbles and oil droplets attached on the PFA-C8 brushes under water (Figure 2b). Therefore, hydrophobic foulants are likely to adhere to the fluorinated polymer brushes in water. Oil detachment was not observed on the PFA-C8 brushes, most likely due to the large WOWS (14.3 mN m−1) in water for the silicone oils.
Swollen state and network structure of hydrated water in polyelectrolyte brushes
The swollen state of the polyelectrolyte chains and the hydrogen-bonding network structure of hydrated water are striking factors not only for bio/blood compatibility but also for anti-fouling in wet conditions. As mentioned above, the swollen thickness and chain conformation of the solvated polymer brushes are essentially determined by the balance between the osmotic pressure and the elastic restoring force of the polymer chains. However, in the case of polyelectrolyte brushes, the ionic strength of aqueous solution and the electrostatic inter- and intra-molecular interactions complicate the swollen structures of polyelectrolyte brushes in aqueous media. The hydrated chain dimension of PMTAC as well as zwitterionic PMPC and PMAPS brushes in aqueous solutions at various ionic strengths were characterized by neutron reflectivity39, 40 and small angle X-ray scattering41, 42, 43, 44 measurements. The hydration state and the salt concentration dependence clearly depend on the chemical structure of the charged polyelectrolyte chains. PMTAC brushes adopt a two-phase structure that consists a shrunken region at the Si substrate interface and a diffuse region at the solution interface in de-ionized water.45 The diffuse swollen chain collapsed in a sodium chloride solution due to the charge shielding effect. In contrast, PMAPS brushes collapse in de-ionized water because of the strong attractive interaction of the sulfobetaine groups, whereas their aggregation is dissociated by the addition of sodium chloride to obtain a diffuse swollen layer. The hydration state of PMPC brushes is stable and inert to the ionic strength of the solution. The unique ionic strength-dependent hydration state of the polyelectrolyte brushes plays a significant role in anti-fouling properties.
The structure of hydrated water involves both the hydrogen-bonded network of water and the local orientation (rotational rearrangement) of water around the polymer chains. It is becoming recognized that the water structure is an important cast member in the bio/blood compatibility and anti-fouling characters.7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 For the past few decades, considerable experimental and theoretical efforts have been devoted to the dynamics and structures of hydrated water. Vibrational spectroscopy, including Raman and IR spectroscopy, have been applied to show the hydrogen-bonded network structure and the rotational rearrangement of water molecules because the observation time scale is much shorter than the relaxation time scale of these structures. Alternatively, differential scanning calorimetry,9 X-ray diffraction/scattering,46 dielectric relaxation47, 48 and nuclear magnetic resonance49 measurements provide diffusion-averaged structures of the water molecules. Tanaka et al.9, 10 proposed a unique hydration model to describe a common principle found in the bio/blood compatible polymeric materials. They found a freezing-bound water molecule that exhibits cold crystallization in the heating process of differential scanning calorimetry <0 °C and presents a strong peak at 3400 cm−1 in an IR spectrum, a so called 'intermediated water'. The hydrated water structure is roughly categorized into three discrete states: free water (or freezing water), freezing-bound water (or intermediate water) and non-freezing water (or non-freezing-bound water). The bio/blood compatible polymers commonly involve 'intermediate water' that interacts weakly with the polymer chains, indicating that the excellent bio/blood compatibility is derived from the existence of intermediated water on the polymer surfaces.
The structure of hydrated water in polyelectrolyte brushes was investigated by high-spatial resolution microscopic IR spectroscopy using an IR beam from synchrotron radiation.38 A microscopic film of hydrated polyelectrolyte brushes exists outside the water droplet. The hydrated PMTAC brushes contain highly ordered, amorphous, solid-like water. Similar hydrogen-bonded network structures were observed in anionic and zwitterionic polyelectrolytes, indicating that the water-soluble polyelectrolyte brushes adopt the hydrated water ice-like structured state regardless of the surface charge.
Fluid lubrication of hydrated polyelectrolyte brushes
Polymer brushes made from water-soluble hydrophilic polymers and charged polyelectrolytes show efficient lubrication under aqueous environments.39, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55 Densely grafted polyelectrolyte chains stretch away from the substrate through hydration to avoid chain overlap due to electrostatic repulsion and the osmotic pressure of hydrated counter-ions around the charged chains. The conformational entropy and the excluded volume effect of hydrated chains prevent compression by vertical loading to cause repulsive force. The fluidity of the hydrated bound water also promotes lubrication. Klein et al.52, 53 demonstrated that polyelectrolyte chain grafting reduces friction in aqueous media using a surface force apparatus. The macroscopic friction coefficient and wear resistance of a series of polyelectrolyte brushes were investigated by a ball-on-plate reciprocating tribometer.50, 51 The sliding velocity dependence of the friction coefficient in the polyelectrolyte brushes is in accordance with a Stribeck curve.56, 57 While the sliding probe and substrate directly contact and slide at a low sliding velocity, inducing a high friction coefficient (boundary lubrication state), a fluid lubrication film separates the surfaces to cause drastic friction coefficient reduction at a high sliding velocity (EHL).24 Although polymer brush-assisted lubrication is not entirely explained by conventional EHL theory, the pseudo-EHL appears to have relatively low sliding velocity because the hydrated polyelectrolyte brush layer stabilizes the fluid film. This mechanism is commonly found in cartilage lubrication.1, 58 The polymer brush-assisted water lubrication mechanism was further investigated by direct measurement of the lubrication layer thickness at the sliding interface using double-spacer-layer ultra-thin-film interferometry.59 The gap between the PMTAC brushes and a spherical glass probe increased with increasing sliding velocity to be 130 nm at 2 × 10−2 m s−1, and the friction coefficient simultaneously decreased to 0.01−0.02. The lubrication effect of polyelectrolyte brushes is surely related to the weak adhesive force of foreign substances in aqueous media.
Anti-fouling of polymer brushes for marine fouling organisms
Various non-toxic, anti-fouling marine coatings including silicone and fluorinated polymer-based fouling release and self-peeling coatings have been proposed; however, multipurpose non-toxic coatings that are long-lasting and effective on diverse marine organisms have never been developed.2, 3, 4 The anti-fouling performance of polymer brushes for marine fouling organisms has been investigated to obtain effective polymer interfaces for preventing marine organism settlement.60, 61, 62, 63, 64 Either micro-organisms, such as marine bacteria, diatoms and algae spores, or macro-organisms, such as barnacle cypris larvae, tube worms, mussel larvae and algae, have been examined. Jiang et al.61, 62, 63, 64 demonstrated versatile marine organism settlement inhibition by zwitterionic poly(sulfobetaine)s and poly(carboxy betaine)s in a wide variety of settlement tests; however, insight into the anti-fouling mechanisms has not yet been clarified. The hydration state and neutral surface charge of the polyelectrolyte chains are commonly attributed to the anti-fouling mechanism. Although the settlement mechanisms of marine fouling organisms have diversity, the anti-fouling properties of polymer substrates are hardly explained by any correlation between the physical characteristics of polymer surfaces and the individual settlement mechanisms.
We carried out comprehensive anti-fouling research on a wide variety of polymer brushes with three marine fouling organisms, barnacle cypris larvae, mussel larvae in their adhesion period, and marine bacteria, using filtered natural sea water.65 The settlement tests were performed using artificially cultivated larvae to ensure the reproducibility of the examinations.66 A variety of polymer brushes including zwitterionic polyelectrolytes PMPC and PMAPS, cationic polyelectrolyte PMTAC, a hydrophobic glassy polymer (poly(methyl methacrylate), PMMA), a hydrophobic aliphatic polymer (poly(butyl acrylate), PBA) and silicone containing polymer (poly(3-[tris(trimethylsiloxy)silyl]propylmethacrylate), PTMSM) were examined. Zwitterionic polyelectrolyte brushes showed versatile anti-fouling behavior for all examined marine organisms, whereas all hydrophobic polymer brushes allowed marine fouling organism settlement (Figure 3). Moreover, we found organism-selective anti-fouling of cationic PMTAC brushes. Positively charged PMTAC brushes showed excellent anti-fouling performance with barnacle cypris larvae, similar to the zwitterionic polyelectrolytes, but mussel larvae and marine bacteria settled on PMTAC brushes in a manner similar to hydrophobic polymer brushes.
The ratio of (a) 'settled' barnacle cypris larvae to the initial population of cypris larvae after 10 days and (b) 'settled' mussel larvae to the initial population of mussel larvae after a 6-day settlement test period on the polymer brushes. Reproduced from the study by Higaki et al.65 with permission.
For the barnacle cypris larvae, enthusiastic searching action was observed and the majority of them settled after 10 days on the hydrophobic polymer brushes, while both zwitterionic and cationic polymer brushes refused their exploration to achieve complete settlement inhibition. In contrast, the mussel larvae crept on all polymer brushes, but only zwitterionic polyelectrolyte brushes inhibited their permanent settlement. The mussel larvae attempted to settle on the surface by secreting adhesive proteins from the tip of their byssus. However, their settlement failed on the zwitterionic polyelectrolyte brushes, whereas it worked on the cationic polyelectrolyte surface. In the marine bacteria colonization test, the population of bacterial colonies was less in the zwitterionic polyelectrolyte brushes than the other polymer brushes. Cationic PMTAC brushes accept a large amount of bacterial colonies even after washing.
These interesting contrasts in anti-fouling performance of polyelectrolyte brushes were explained by the bio-adhesion mechanism of fouling organisms as well as the hydration state and surface charge of the polymer brushes. Barnacle cypris larvae crept onto a surface by the attachment of splitting cuticular villi at the antennal tip through van der Waals interaction and capillary adhesion of the non-polar viscous glycoproteins at the antennular secretion.66 The adhesion force is relatively weak to repeat cyclic adhesion. The mussel foot adhesive protein (mfp) consists of amino acids with post-translationally modified side chains, including 3,4-dihydroxy-L-phenylalanine (DOPA), and shows strong adhesive forces in ocean reefs.67 The mussel byssus has a suction pad at the tip and removes water prior to the secretion of adhesive proteins. Negatively charged marine bacteria attach through polysaccharide-based extracellular polymeric substances to achieve unspecific adhesion. As described in the section above, zwitterionic polyelectrolytes are well hydrated in a sodium chloride solution and are supposed to maintain the strongly bound water, whereas cationic PMTAC collapses in sodium chloride solution, losing part of the hydrated water under high ionic strength. Although the weak cyclic adhesion by the cuticular villi of barnacle larvae is prevented by moderate hydrophilic surfaces, the hydration state in saline water could be crucial for mussel adhesion because of the water suction process and the strong adhesive force of the mfp. Positive surface charge is a disadvantage in marine bacteria adhesion. In addition, PMTAC brushes lost the hydration shell that prevents bacterial attachment by fluid lubrication and the washing out properties through water penetration at the adhesion interface.
Anti-fouling of polymer brushes for asphaltene deposition
Crude oil includes a component that aggregates and deposits, asphaltene, and it is the principal source of pipeline blocking.5 Asphaltenes consist of heterogeneous macromolecules with high degrees of aromaticity and polarity. Genzer and colleagues68 reported asphaltene adsorption studies for self-assembled monolayers. They concluded that the surface energy of the monolayer is not the leading factor for asphaltene adsorption, instead the thickness of the self-assembled monolayers is most important. Sjöblom and colleagues69 monitored the adsorption quantity of asphaltenes to surface-modified silica particles. Hydrophilic particles received more asphaltenes than hydrophobic particles, indicating that the shielding interaction by the hydrophobic organic layer is effective for separating the underlying polar substrate. We examined the adsorption behavior of an asphaltene model compound (C5Pe) and the detachment behavior of asphaltene deposit films on polymer brushes.70 Zwitterionic PMAPS, a water insoluble but weakly hydrophobic glassy polymer, PMMA and hydrophobic aliphatic polymer, poly(hexyl methacrylate) (PHMA) were examined. The polymer brushes were immersed in a 0.2 mg ml−1 toluene solution of C5Pe for 24 h; subsequently, the polymer brushes were lifted from the solution and dried. While the PMMA brushes were covered with C5Pe, the PMAPS and PHMA brushes exhibited only small amounts of C5Pe adsorption (Figure 4a). The weakly adsorbed C5Pe was removed by sonication, and the adsorption amount was measured by ultraviolet–visible absorption spectroscopy (Figure 4b). Both the PMAPS and PHMA brushes clearly prevented the C5Pe adsorption, whereas the PMMA brushes received a large amount of C5Pe adsorption. The detachability of the asphaltene deposit was evaluated by detachment test in solvent. A 1.0 wt% toluene solution of an extracted natural asphaltene was deposited on the polymer brushes and dried in air. The asphaltene films were immersed in model oil (1/4 (vol/vol) toluene/n-heptane) or de-ionized water and shaken for 20 min. The asphaltene films on the PHMA brush detached in the model oil, whereas the asphaltene films remained adhered to the PMAPS and PMMA brushes, as shown in Figure 5. In contrast, the asphaltene films on the PMAPS brush detached in water, whereas the asphaltene films remained adhered to the PHMA and PMMA brushes. The C5Pe adsorption and detachment behavior of the asphaltene deposits were explained by the interfacial free energies for the polymer brush/asphaltene (γSA) and polymer brush/toluene (γSO) interfaces. For the PHMA brush, the γSO is smaller than the other polymer brushes and is similar in magnitude to γSA. In this case, the solvent (toluene) wets the PHMA brush, leading to effective suppression of C5Pe adsorption. For the PMMA and PMAPS brushes, γSO>γSA, indicating that C5Pe adsorption is preferred over solvent wetting. The γSA in the PMAPS brushes is much higher than the other polymer brushes, and the electromagnetic interaction of the charged sulfobetaine groups is supposed to promote C5Pe adsorption. However, the C5Pe adsorption quantity is lowest in PMAPS brushes. This behavior is attributed to the hydrated layer formation at the interface. Because of the low interfacial free energy for the PMAPS/water interface (γSW), a slight amount of water in toluene immediately adsorbs to PMAPS and the hydration layer prevents C5Pe contact. The liquid penetration into the asphaltene deposit/polymer brush interface is driven by thermodynamic interfacial free energy reduction due to the low polymer brush/liquid interfacial free energy. The solvated polymer brushes repel the adsorbent to maintain a low interfacial free energy.
(a) Fluorescence microscopy images of the polymer brush surfaces after C5Pe adsorption test. (b) Relative amount of C5Pe adsorption onto the polymer brush surfaces. Reproduced from the study by Higaki et al.70 with permission.
Appearances of asphaltene deposit films on the polymer brushes after immersing and shaking in (a) a model oil (1/4 (vol/vol) toluene/n-heptane) and (b) water. Reproduced from the study by Higaki et al.70 with permission.
Future perspectives
This review summarizes the recent research on the anti-fouling of polymer brushes. Polymer brushes are one of the most appropriate model interfaces for the investigation of the polymer/water interfacial structure. The wetting, lubrication, hydration state of the polymer chains and network structure of hydrated water play inter-related, essential roles in anti-fouling. The versatile anti-fouling potential of zwitterionic polyelectrolyte brushes for bio-macromolecules, marine fouling organisms and asphaltene deposition has been demonstrated, and the mechanism behind the anti-fouling has been considered based on the physical states in hydrated polymer brushes. However, there are more complicated structures, including electrolytes in solution71 and discrete local hydrogen-bonded network structures of water.72 Further insights regarding the hydration structure through cutting-edge interface-sensitive analysis will define the essential mechanism of anti-fouling, and this could lead to novel material design for advanced polymeric anti-fouling materials.
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Abuillan, W., Schneck, E., Körner, A., Brandenburg, K., Gutsmann, T., Gill, T., Vorobiev, A., Konovalov, O. & Tanaka, M. Physical interactions of fish protamine and antisepsis peptide drugs with bacterial membranes revealed by combination of specular x-ray reflectivity and grazing-incidence x-ray fluorescence. Phys. Rev. E 88, 012705 (2013).
Tokushima, T., Harada, Y., Takahashi, O., Senba, Y., Ohashi, H., Pettersson, L. G. M., Nilsson, A. & Shin, S. High resolution X-ray emission spectroscopy of liquid water: The observation of two structural motifs. Chem. Phys. Lett. 460, 387–400 (2008).
This research is partially supported by the Adaptable and Seamless Technology Transfer Program through Target-driven R&D (No. AS2511206M) at the Japan Science and Technology Agency, JST. This work is also supported in part by the Photon and Quantum Basic Research Coordinated Development Program from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, Japan.
Motoyasu Kobayashi
Present address: 4Current address: Department of Applied Chemistry, School of Advanced Engineering, Kogakuin University, 2665-1 Nakano-cho, Hachioji, Tokyo 192-0015, Japan.,
Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST), ERATO, Takahara Soft Interfaces Project, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan
Yuji Higaki, Motoyasu Kobayashi, Daiki Murakami & Atsushi Takahara
Institute for Materials Chemistry and Engineering, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan
Yuji Higaki, Daiki Murakami & Atsushi Takahara
International Institute for Carbon-Neutral Energy Research (WPI-I2CNER), Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan
Yuji Higaki & Atsushi Takahara
Yuji Higaki
Daiki Murakami
Atsushi Takahara
Correspondence to Atsushi Takahara.
Higaki, Y., Kobayashi, M., Murakami, D. et al. Anti-fouling behavior of polymer brush immobilized surfaces. Polym J 48, 325–331 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1038/pj.2015.137
Revised: 23 November 2015
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/pj.2015.137
Controlling orientation, conformation, and biorecognition of proteins on silane monolayers, conjugate polymers, and thermo-responsive polymer brushes: investigations using TOF-SIMS and principal component analysis
Katarzyna Gajos
Kamil Awsiuk
Andrzej Budkowski
Colloid and Polymer Science (2021)
Chemistry and application of emerging ecofriendly antifouling paints: a review
Sampson Kofi Kyei
Godfred Darko
Onyewuchi Akaranta
Journal of Coatings Technology and Research (2020)
Adhesion force measurement of live cypris tentacles by scanning probe microscopy in seawater
Shohei Shiomoto
Yuka Yamaguchi
Polymer Journal (2019)
Brushing up functional materials
Shuanhong Ma
Xiaoqin Zhang
Feng Zhou
NPG Asia Materials (2019)
Direct polymer brush grafting to polymer fibers and films by surface-initiated polymerization
Polymer Surfaces, Interfaces and Thin Films
Polymer Journal (Polym J) ISSN 1349-0540 (online) ISSN 0032-3896 (print)


Personal experience as well as dozens of studies have shown that owning a cat or several cats has positive consequences on the owner's mental health and even mental development, particularly in small children. Further than that, cats are extremely independent creatures so they will not pester you, seeking attention or requiring special care. In fact owning a cat is no more troublesome than owning a plant, except that, when you want to snuggle, the cat is much more useful. The only difference is that, with a cat, you need to worry about cleaning its litter box, and that is enough for some people to give up on the whole project. The good news is that we have found some of the best automatic litter boxes on the market and have created individual, in depth reviews, for each one. Now, you really can enjoy owning a cat, without having to worry about any of the messy side effects.
After we have talked so much about what we need to see in an automatic litter box to even take it into consideration, you should not be at all surprised that our top choice is the Litter Robot III Open-Air . It is a very fancy, futuristic looking litter box, and it scores very high on every aspect we would look for when making our choice.
For one, it is a corded device so you can just set it up and forget about it. Second, is the way it deals with the solid matters in the sand. It spins around the entire inside kitty litter and it strains away any pieces of clothed sand or actual poo, depositing them in a tidy little plastic bag. How often you change the bag is really up to you and, of course, the size of your cat, but you can comfortably expect to get at least a week of trouble free use out of it. The biggest concern we had with it was the sensor telling the machine that the cat is still in it, but we were quite impressed to see that, even if the kitty took a nap in the sandbox, so it stayed virtually unmoved for several hours, the self cleaning action did not kick in.
The biggest advantage of using the Litter Robot III is the fact that it churns the litter so you do not have to waste half of it, once it get too full. Instead, you can just keep adding litter when necessary, and take out the poopy bag once it is full. The carbon filter on this automatic litter box is by far the best one we have ever seen so it is well worth having it for that feature alone.
Finally, we were absolutely blown away by the fact that you get a 90 days, that is almost 3 months, money back guarantee. So you can be sure that, if your cat does not like it at first, there is no way for you to get her to start liking it, or, if she does like it at first, she will not get bored with it and switch back to the regular kitty litter.
The only real problem we have with the Litter Robot is the fact that, for all the great features it has, it is still a pretty expensive automatic litter box. And that is where the ScoopFree Self Cleaning Litter Box comes in.
It costs nearly half the price of the Litter Robot, and it does pretty much the same job. It uses an automatic system to scoop all solids into a separate container, and it comes with its own Fresh Step crystals that do an excellent job out of absorbing odors on their own, even without the scooping action. The obvious disadvantage here is the fact that you have to buy the ScoopFree litter box with the Fresh Step crystals each time, you cannot change to a more affordable litter and just take advantage of the raking system.
Also the hood under which the solids are raked, does not have a carbon filter, or any kind of filter for that matter, so you are relying entirely on the Fresh Step crystals. They are quite good, but still, we would have really liked to have a filtration system in place there just so as to keep every last bit of smell contained in the box. However, the good news is that, as long as you are willing to use their system entirely, you only need to change the box every 2 weeks or even longer, for an average size cat, and the raking system is very well put together and thoroughly tested to last you for many years on end.
The other important thing to remember is that, with the ScoopFree Self Cleaning Litter Box, you also get a 90 day money back guarantee, and they will even pay for the return shipping. Of course, since this looks and feels identical to a regular litter box, there is no reason why you cat should not take to it from the first day.
Of course, we would all like to spend as little as possible on dealing with our cat's litter, so, if you have a particularly good cat, you may get away with just buying the PetSafe Simply Clean Continuous-Clean Litter Box , which is the most affordable automatic litter box we could find that still does a pretty good job.
In fact, it has several advantages over the ScoopFree litter box, in that you can use any type of litter you want, even regular sand, it has a conveyor system that takes the solids into a bag and leaves the litter clean, so you only need to add a little bit every week or so, and you can use any old grocery bag to collect the waste and neatly through it away. Obviously, though, there are some disadvantages, like the fact that the entire litter base is constantly moving. It will do a full resolution in one hour, so you would have to just sit there and stare at it to even notice that it is moving, but, if your cat is a bit sensitive, she might just shy away from this particular litter box.
Also, the poopy tray is not behind a carbon filter, so you will need to buy a good quality smell absorbing litter, and even then there will be the regular smell you get from a conventional litter box. The only real advantage is the fact that you do not have to deal with the cat waste, and you can just change the bag every day so that your home will smell nice and fresh.
We also found the litter box itself to be a somewhat on the small size, so your cat needs to be a standard, lean sized cat to be able to use the PetSafe Simply Clean Continuous-Clean Litter Box in a comfortable matter. And, to make matters worse, you do not get a money back guarantee in case you cat does not like the system, so you need to really know your cat and be aware of the size constrictions before you buy.
The last honorable mention we are going to make in our search for the best automatic litter box is the CatGenie Self Washing Self Flushing Cat Box . It is somewhat more expensive than our budget and even best overall choices, but it uses a synthetic litter that does not need to be changed. Instead the CatGenie cleans, washes, dries and aerates the existing litter.
Its biggest advantage is the fact that several cats can use it. It was designed to be used for up to 3 regular sized cats, but, as long as you start the cleaning process by yourself, there is no reason why even more cats could not use it. Still the CatGenie would not be our first or even second choice because the cleaning process does aerate some of those odors, so you will need to place the entire litter in the toilet or in a very well aerated area. You also have to connect it to your water and drain plugs, besides an electric outlet.
The good news is that by doing all of that you actually do not need to plug ever worry about seeing, touching or handling in any way any of the cat's waste. The CatGenie Self Washing Self Flushing Cat Box neatly drains away any liquids and then scoops and liquefies the solids before flushing them away. It uses a cat safe soap to thoroughly wash the litter and then perfectly dries it off.
The most astute of you will have noticed, though, that you do have to spend money regularly to buy the soap and the fact remains that the CatGenie uses a lot more power than any of the other systems we have talked about. So at the end of the day you are not really saving any money by not having to ever change the litter, but you do get a system that can be used by as many cats as you may have and that deals with the problem of the constant smell in a pretty original way.
There are several great reasons why you should use an automatic litter box, besides the obvious one where you do not need to handle kitty poo. One of the most important ones has to do with the fact that cats are incredibly clean animals and they need to feel clean and have a clean environment in order to be happy and playful. So, obviously, if they have to go time and again in the same place and cover new poo with old one, they will not feel very comfortable.
The advantage with the automatic litter boxes we have featured here is that they have a sensor telling them when the cat has "visited" the litter, and they will use some type of system to keep the sand clean. The other thing that nobody talks about is that, even though regular smell absorbing sand does a pretty good job of not letting the worst of the smell pollute your home, there will always be a scent telling everyone, the moment the enter the door, that there is a cat in the house. Here the great advantage of using an automatic litter box is that, by dragging away all the smelly composites, and tucking them away inside the box itself, you get a much fresher and cleaner air in the rest of your house.
Finally, you should also consider the fact that, by using an automatic cleaning process to separate the sand from the poo, you actually get to use the same sand box for longer periods of time, so after the first year of use you will have made back most of the money you had spend on the litter box itself.
There are several aspects that are very important to consider when purchasing an automatic litter box. For one thing, most of them need to be plugged in, and that is great because you do not have to worry about them losing power over time or buying new batteries. On the other hand, though, if you are constantly one the move, or if you have a summer cottage that does not have power, you may want to buy one of the battery operated automatic litter boxes out there.
A more important aspect to consider is how you are supposed to actually get rid of all that dirty sand. The best automatic litter boxes, in our opinion, are the ones that separate the dirt from the sand and you can just clean that away, allowing you to use whatever type of sand or gravel you like. However, there are other boxes where you never have to even think about the waste, because all you have to do is change the actual litter box for a new one. You are basically doing the same thing, which is throwing waste away, but with our second choice, you do not have to think about it. As far as you are concerned, you are just changing one box for another.
Finally, as silly as it may sound, you need to take your cat's preferences into consideration. Granted, not everyone can know if their cat will like one litter box or another, but you can usually tell if your cat has an adventures nature and would like to explore a new, fancy looking litter box, or if she would rather be left alone to her own devices, and would enjoy only standard looking litter box. However, the great thing is that some of the best automatic litter boxes come with a 60 day money back guarantee where, if you cat does not like the litter box, you can simply return it and either return to the classic method of dealing with things, or you can buy a different automatic litter box.
Diane is a life-long cat lover and a seasoned cat owner, currently taking care of only 2 cats, which gives her more than enough trouble. She tries to educate fellow cat lovers about the benefits of litter boxes.
CatLitterBox.reviews is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.


Reports to the Software Solutions Line of Business VP, serving as a technical visionary, choosing products to use and defining best practices and procedures.
Identified business process short-comings within a client's reporting system, leading to a series of projects totaling $70K.
Increased sales revenue by $150K in 7 months by driving the design and development of a new SaaS product using a limited external budget of $6K and internal staff of two. Sale of the intellectual property rights and subscriber base executed at $300K.


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Michael COUGHLIN
Place of birth Balmain, New South Wales
Religion Roman Catholic
Address 5 Hancock Street, Rozelle, New South Wales
Next of kin Sister, Mrs M Coughlin, 5 Hancock Street, Rozelle, New South Wales
Previous military service Nil
Enlistment date 29 July 1915
Date of enlistment from Nominal Roll 23 July 1915
Unit name 4th Battalion, 13th Reinforcement
Embarkation details Unit embarked from Sydney, New South Wales, on board HMAT A60 Aeneas on 20 December 1915
Regimental number from Nominal Roll 4162A
Unit from Nominal Roll 2nd Battalion
Fate Killed in Action 4 October 1917
Place of burial No known grave
Commemoration details The Ypres (Menin Gate) Memorial (Panel 7), Belgium
The Menin Gate Memorial (so named because the road led to the town of Menin) was constructed on the site of a gateway in the eastern walls of the old Flemish town of Ypres, Belgium, where hundreds of thousands of allied troops passed on their way to the front, the Ypres salient, the site from April 1915 to the end of the war of some of the fiercest fighting of the war.
The Memorial was conceived as a monument to the 350,000 men of the British Empire who fought in the campaign. Inside the arch, on tablets of Portland stone, are inscribed the names of 56,000 men, including 6,178 Australians, who served in the Ypres campaign and who have no known grave.
The opening of the Menin Gate Memorial on 24 July 1927 so moved the Australian artist Will Longstaff that he painted 'The Menin Gate at Midnight', which portrays a ghostly army of the dead marching past the Menin Gate. The painting now hangs in the Australian War Memorial, Canberra, at the entrance of which are two medieval stone lions presented to the Memorial by the City of Ypres in 1936.
Since the 1930s, with the brief interval of the German occupation in the Second World War, the City of Ypres has conducted a ceremony at the Memorial at dusk each evening to commemorate those who died in the Ypres campaign.
Panel number, Roll of Honour,
Australian War Memorial 32
War service: Egypt, Western Front
Allotted to and joined 2nd Bn, Tel el Kebir, 14 February 1916.
Proceeded from Alexandria to join the British Expeditionary Force, 22 March 1916; disembarked Marseilles, 28 March 1916. Found guilty of disobeying orders, 9 May 1916: awarded 7 days' Field Punishment No. 2.
Admitted to 1st Field Ambulance, 26 February 1917 (pyrexia, unknown origin); transferred to Divisional Rest Station; admitted to 7th Canadian General Hospital, Le Treport, 5 March 1917 (influenza and trench feet). Transferred to England, 9 March 1917; admitted to 3rd London General Hospital, Wansdworth, 10 March 1917. Transferred to 3rd Auxiliary Hospital, Dartford, 18 April 1917; discharged to No. 2 Command Depot, Weymouth, 7 May 1917. Marched out to Draft Depot, 7 June 1917; proceeded overseas to France, 5 July 1917; rejoined Bn, 25 September 1917.
Killed in action, Belgium, 4 October 1917. Buried at Jabber Creek; grave subsequently lost
Medals: British War Medal, Victory Medal


Ms FLINT (Boothby) (16:46): Tonight, the Parliamentary Friends of Australian Music will be holding its annual Rock the House event to showcase some of our best Australian music. This is a bipartisan group, as you can see, Mr Deputy Speaker, and I'm grateful to the member for Whitlam for his support. Tonight we are delighted to welcome exciting new talent All Our Exes Live in Texas; Australian music legend Ian Moss, singer, songwriter and member of Cold Chisel; Oz rock legend John Paul Young; and the multi-award-winning Kasey Chambers, who is actually a fellow South Australian. These iconic Australian musicians are here to explain the importance of copyright protection for our artists, to ensure Australian artists get the airtime they deserve, and to explain the benefits of promoting their work overseas.
Australian musicians are small-business people. They employ, they invest and they export. Our artists and their record labels contribute $4 billion to $6 billion to our economy each year. Growing music exports would see these figures grow. I am grateful to the team at APRA AMCOS, the Australian Performing Rights Association, for their support of artists, for the policy development work they do and, of course, for their support of the event here at Parliament House this evening. They are tireless in their efforts for their members and for Australian music. Thanks also to industry body ARIA, and the PPCA.
providing the soundtracks to our lives. I've listed some of the songs that mean a lot to me as part of a playlist put together for Sounds Australia, along with eight of my Liberal, Nationals, Labor and Greens colleagues. One of the songs chosen by the member for Dawson was GANGgajang's 'Sounds of Then'.
records your parents played during your childhood—whatever it might be, whatever the special memory is for you—our musicians provide the soundtracks to our lives. On behalf of every Australian who enjoys Australian music, I want to thank all of our fabulous musicians, particularly those performing here for us this evening, and I hope that everyone has a really enjoyable night.


The Scripture provides a number of phrases that describe the characteristics of the Holy Spirit.
1. He is the Spirit of truth (John 14:17; 15:26; 16:13; 1 John 4:6). As such He guides us into all truth and seeks to keep us from error.
2. He is the Spirit of holiness (Rom. 1:4). As such He separates us unto God from all that is anti-God.
3. He is the Spirit of life in Christ (Rom. 8:2). As such He imparts life to those who depend on Him to keep us from the deadness of the flesh, both irreligious flesh and religious flesh.
4. He is the Spirit of adoption (Rom. 8:15). As such when we are born again as babes in Christ, He also adopts us in as mature sons with all the access rights to our inheritance in Christ.
5. He is the Spirit of faith (2 Cor. 4:13). As such when we look unto Jesus through the Word, He authors faith in our hearts by convincing us of the reality of truth so that we might exercise faith.
6. He is the Spirit of promise (Eph. 1:13). As such He seals us unto the day of redemption, moving into and joining our regenerated spirits, promising there is more to come.
7. He is the Spirit of wisdom (Eph. 1:17). As such He imparts to us discernment and skill to apply biblical knowledge to real life.
8. He is the Spirit of revelation in the knowledge of God (Eph. 1:17). As such He reveals to us the person of God to enhance our relationship with God and keep us from ritualism.
9. He is the Spirit of power (2 Tim. 1:7). As such He imparts divine ability because spiritual ministry demands spiritual energy.
10. He is the Spirit of love (2 Tim. 1:7). As such He imparts supernatural love that would otherwise not be experienced.
11. He is the Spirit of a sound mind (2 Tim. 1:7). As such He keeps us stable and free from instability and vacillation.
12. He is the Spirit of grace (Heb. 10:29). As such He is the agent of the Godhead who supernaturally enables us to do the will of God.
13. He is the Spirit of glory (1 Pet. 4:14). As such He radiates the glory of Jesus in us so we are aglow with Christ.
What a glorious Holy Spirit—the Spirit of the Father and the Spirit of the Son!


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IT consultancy GFT buys Habber Tec's Brazilian wing
26 April 2016 Consultancy.lat
The Brazilian operations of international business process management firm Habber Tec have been purchased by Stuttgart-based IT consultancy GFT. The deal means that over 100 Habber Tec staff spread across three cities in Brazil will be integrated into GFT Brazil. The addition will boost GFT's Brazilian wing to around 560 professionals. The transaction was completed earlier this month.
Habber Tec specializes in business process management (BPM), analytics, and digital transformation. The firm was founded in 1997 and has a global footprint of more than 4,000 employees across offices in twelve countries, generating revenue of €374 million last year. In 2000, the company moved into Brazil, and in the years since has grown to generate revenues of BRL 22.4 million (approximately €5.4 million) annually and employs over 100 professionals. The majority of the firm's clientele in Brazil are banks, insurers and other members of the financial services industry. However, as part of Habber Tec's international strategy, its management team has decided to divest its Brazilian business and focus instead on its Europe operations.
Habber Tec brought in London-based M&A firm Equiteq as a financial advisor to support the sale. Following a due diligence on the shortlist of potential buyers, the English dealmaker began negotiations with interested parties, after which an agreement was reached with business change and tech consultancy GFT.
The move will enable GFT to diversify its Brazilian service offerings, providing a broader suite of complementary services and adding new capabilities to its inventory. The CEO of GFT, Ulrich Dietz, commented, "Habber Tec Brazil adds further expertise in BPM integration and mobile solutions, especially in the fields of credit and digital banking applications. With this acquisition, the GFT Group will strengthen its Brazilian client base by adding renowned banks and further insurance companies."
With the acquisition of Habber Tec, GFT hopes to capitalize on the growing demand in Brazil for process management optimization services. According to GFT COO Marika Lulay, there is a need for improved efficiency within internal operations. Since Habber Tec Brazil serves as one of IBM's larger local partners for BPM products and services, this deal will allow them to service this gap in the market.
Fernando Arencibia Darias, one of the shareholders of Habber Tec Brazil and Habber Tec International Group, was pleased with the deal process. "We are very pleased with the outcome of the transaction and Equiteq's support throughout. Their professionalism and expertise was instrumental in structuring, negotiating and completing the deal." Darias believes that the transaction is a "very important step for the Group's strategy." Habber Tec's current focus area now lies in Europe, where it has offices in Spain, Portugal and the UK.
Equiteq's Director and lead deal advisor Gabriela Silvestris said she found it an "absolute pleasure" to work with the shareholders of Habber Tec Brazil. "Their strong market position is underpinned by their key competencies in BPM, analytics and mobile solutions which address some of the major challenges banks are facing in the context of digital transformation."
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Home / News and Stories / All News / Scouts of Brazil hosts second education congress with focus on non-formal education
Scouts of Brazil hosts second education congress with focus on non-formal education
by World Scouting from Malaysia
Publication date: 7th Sep 2018
Creator: World Scouting
The Scouts of Brazil (Escoteiros do Brazil) is holding its second National Scout Education Congress to discuss key issues in non-formal education and Scouting.
The three-day event will start on September 7 in Campinas in the state of São Paulo with discussions focussed around the theme: Scouting: Education in Movement! Speakers include Pia Melin Mortensen, representative of the World Scout Committee, Stephen Peck, director at the World Scout Bureau, and Alessandro Garcia Viera, president of Escoteiros do Brasil.
Brazil stands out as a pioneer in discussions about non-formal education and was one of the first countries in Scouting to organise its own education congress, which looked at the positive effect of Scouting on its young members.
The second congress will explore new technologies and inclusive practices in non-formal education, in line with the UN's 2030 Agenda and the 17 Sustainable Development Goals. Different speakers will highlight activities developed in line with the Scout Method, and academic research into the impact of Scouting. A number of posters will be exhibited to showcase the most successful projects.
Education professionals from Brazil will also attend the event, including Roberto Greco, professor of the Universidade Estadual de Campinas – UNICAMP, José Vicente de Freitas, PostDoc in Environmental Sciences, and working in the Graduate Program in Environmental Education of UNICAMP; and Hector Carrer, and educator and member of the Argentine Scout Movement who heads a publisher of educational games.
Brazil is set to host the 3rd World Scout Education Congress in Rio de Janeiro next December. The 2019 Congress is expected to address issues such as the trend among schools towards non-formal education, shifting global demographics and the growth of digital media.
Featured attachments
2° Congreso Nacional de Educación Scout - Brasil.pdf
World Scouting


Synastry is the system of comparing the astrological charts of two people to determine how well they will get along in the different areas of their lives.
and what problems these people may have to overcome in the course of their involvement with each other.
Like almost all couples, there will be areas of life where things hum along nicely with virtually no problems, and there will be other areas of life that are occasionally challenging.
Even the most idyllic match usually shows some areas of discord.
Every relationship needs some dynamic tension if the individuals involved are to grow.
A bit of challenge also brings excitement into the relationship.
Without sexual tension, for instance, you can have a lovely friendship, but it may not go beyond that.
What's important is that the comparison in general shows compatibility.
Take a deep dive into knowing your relationship. It may reveal the stars in each other!