Here is the Puck Daddy Viewing Guide: Spotlighting five things to watch for during tonight's slate of games. Make sure to stop back here for the nightly Three Stars when the games are finished.
Getty ImagesCreate-a-Caption: Calgary Flames captain Mark Giordano and his falling pucks.
• • •
Preview: Colorado Avalanche at Boston Bruins, 7 p.m. EDT
Preview: Columbus Blue Jackets at Buffalo Sabres, 7 p.m. EDT
Preview: Carolina Hurricanes at Washington Capitals, 7 p.m. EDT
Preview: Phoenix Coyotes at Detroit Red Wings, 7:30 p.m. EDT
Preview: Florida Panthers at Tampa Bay Lightning, 7:30 p.m. EDT
Preview: Toronto Maple Leafs at Nashville Predators, 8 p.m. EDT
Preview: Winnipeg Jets at Minnesota Wild, 8 p.m. EDT
Preview: Montreal Canadiens at Edmonton Oilers, 9:30 p.m. EDT
Preview: San Jose Sharks at Vancouver Canucks, 10 p.m. EDT
Preview: New York Rangers at Anaheim Ducks, 10 p.m. EDT
• • •
Five things to know about tonight's NHL games ...
1. No Go For Nash. The Rangers will be without star Rick Nash against the Ducks on Thursday night, as he recovers from the hit to the noggin from Brad Staurt. He's officially day-to-day, but will be out of action on Saturday for the Rangers as well. According to Newsday, the Rangers are shuffling lines, with Brad Richards back at center between Ryan Callahan and Benoit Pouliot.
2. Invasion Of The Jets. It's the first divisional matchup between the Jets and Wild. According to the CBC, "A fan-operated blog called The Team of 18,001 issued a special call on Wednesday, explaining locals were being 'out-gunned' by several hundred visiting Jets fans and needed to do better."
3. Julien Ready For Roy. In a battle of unbeaten teams, the Bruins host the Avs. Knowing how, ahem, passionate Patrick Roy can be behind the bench, Coach Claude Julien told the media: "I spent the last couple of days solidifying the glas between the benches. ... It gave me lots of time to do a lot of different things. That's the good part of having a few days off."
4. Power Outtage. Of the three teams without a power-play goal (Dallas being the other), two are in action tonight. The Red Wings are 0-for-8 in three games; the Panthers are a brutal 0-for-16.
5.Sister Foligno, Reporter: Cara Foligno introduces us to her brothers, Marcus and Nick, before they face each other in Thursday's Sabres-Blue Jackets game. This is great.
• • •
Bold Prediction: Joe Thornton scores a hat trick, but the fourth goal never comes.
Curiosity's one-month spring vacation, caused by Mars slipping behind the sun, is now over. "Can you hear me now? Conjunction is over," tweeted Curiosity's handlers today.
By Mike Wall,?Space.com / May 2, 2013
NASA?s Mars rover Curiosity takes a self-portrait. After a month-long 'spring break,' Curiosity is ready to continue exploring the red planet.
Courtesy of NASA / AP / File
Enlarge
The Mars rover Curiosity's month of freedom on the Red Planet is over.
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Curiosity had been on its own since early April, when Mars slipped behind the sun from Earth's perspective. Our star can disrupt communications between the two planets in this alignment, which is known as a Mars solar conjunction, so Curiosity's handlers at Mission Control had temporarily stopped sending commands to the 1-ton rover.
But the heavens have shifted, bringing Mars and Earth back in touch and the Curiosity rover back within reach of its masters.
"Can you hear me now? Conjunction is over. I have a clear view of Earth & am back to work!" NASA officials wrote on behalf of the rover via the Curiosity Twitter feed today (May 2).
Curiosity landed inside the Red Planet's huge Gale Crater last August, kicking off a two-year surface mission to determine if Mars has ever been capable of supporting microbial life.
The rover has already checked off its main mission goal. Before conjunction, Curiosity collected samples from a hole it drilled 2.5 inches (6.4 centimeters) into a rocky outcrop called "John Klein." The rover's analysis of these samples allowed mission scientists to determine that Mars was indeed habitable billions of years ago.
The post-conjunction plan involves drilling another hole nearby, mission officials have said, to confirm and extend scientists' understanding of the John Klein area. When that work is done, Curiosity will likely begin the 6-mile (10 kilometers) trek to the base of Mount Sharp, the mysterious 3.4-mile-high (5.4 km) mountain that rises from Gale's center.
Mars solar conjunctions occur every 26 months, so veterans of NASA's Mars missions are used to dealing with them. While this was Curiosity's first conjunction, it was the fifth for NASA's Opportunity rover, which touched down in January 2004 and is still roving, and the sixth for Mars Odyssey, which has been orbiting the Red Planet since 2001.
While Curiosity's handlers didn't send any commands during conjunction, the rover didn't quite get the month off. Curiosity didn't do any driving or other complex operations, but it did continue monitoring Martian weather and radiation.
Follow Mike Wall on Twitter?@michaeldwall?and?Google+.?Follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebookor Google+. Originally published on?SPACE.com.
Copyright 2013 SPACE.com, a TechMediaNetwork company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
DETROIT (Reuters) - General Motors Co posted stronger-than-expected quarterly profit on Thursday as the U.S. automaker kept a tight grip on costs in its North American and European businesses.
GM shares rose 3.6 percent to $31.27, near their initial public offering debut of $33 in the fall of 2010, and hit the highest point since July of 2011.
The increase is welcome news for GM's largest shareholder, the U.S. Treasury, which acquired its stake after a taxpayer-funded bailout. Treasury, which says it will sell its remaining position over the next year, gains almost $250 million for every $1 increase in GM's stock price.
"GM, while still beset with issues, is generally executing better than investors give it credit for," Barclays analyst Brian Johnson said in a research note.
The company still expects to return to breakeven by mid-decade in Europe, where it has reported 13 straight years of losses, said GM Chief Financial Officer Dan Ammann.
RBC Capital Markets analyst Joseph Spak welcomed the results, pointing to the company's ability to cut costs.
"Better-than-expected results (in Europe) will be well received, giving investors confidence that progress is being made and breakeven by mid-decade is possible," he said in a research note.
GM's smaller U.S. rival Ford Motor Co last week posted a stronger-than-expected first-quarter profit on strength in North America, but overall costs spiked as it took steps to reinvest in its global lineup and shore up European operations.
About $225 million in higher structural costs in the quarter stemmed from Ford's efforts to fix the European business after an economic downturn hit consumer demand for new cars.
'TOO SOON TO CALL A BOTTOM'
Ammann said GM doesn't see any signs of a turnaround in Europe. "It's too soon to call a bottom in Europe."
Ford officials have said the European auto industry may see some stabilization toward year-end or early 2014.
GM's first-quarter net income attributable to common stockholders fell 13.5 percent to $865 million, or 58 cents a share, from $1 billion, or 60 cents a share, in the year-earlier period. The company took a $400 million hit to earnings due to falling prices for its vehicles and weaker volume.
The latest quarter included a $162 million noncash charge for the devaluation of the Venezuelan currency.
Excluding one-time items, GM earned 67 cents, topping the analysts' estimate of 54 cents, according to a poll by Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
"We are much more of a formidable competitor now than we have been in more than a generation," Chief Executive Dan Akerson said on a conference call.
Revenue fell 2.4 percent from last year to $36.9 billion, and was just above the Wall Street target of $36.6 billion.
GM's North American unit reported operating profit of $1.41 billion, better than the Wall Street estimate of $1.21 billion, according to FactSet StreetAccount. The result was down from a year ago due to higher costs from preparing plants for new vehicle launches, especially the redesigned Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra full-size pickup trucks, as well as lower shipments because the plants were down.
The company also saw a $200 million drop in operating earnings as it was forced to offer pricing deals on its current large truck line ahead of the launch of the new models.
Analysts have warned that a weaker Japanese yen and deteriorating European market will likely lead to more competitive pricing in North America. Japanese automaker Nissan Motor Co said this week it was cutting prices on seven models representing 65 percent of its U.S. offerings.
KEEPING COSTS FLAT
GM kept North American costs in the quarter flat, which was better than anticipated. In January, company officials said costs would increase this year.
GM officials said while most of the expected increase in costs in North America will occur in the second and third quarters because of the new-vehicle launches, it will benefit from higher prices and lower incentives associated with the new cars and trucks.
RBC's Spak said the North American unit's 6.2 percent profit margin was stronger than the 4.7 percent he expected. Ford had a North American margin of 11 percent in the quarter.
GM's loss of $175 million in Europe was smaller than the $469 million loss Wall Street estimated, according to FactSet.
In the region, GM cut $300 million in costs and was able to keep the pricing on its vehicles unchanged, both better than anticipated.
Ammann said GM will see cost savings in Europe slow as the year progresses, and Edward Jones analyst Christian Mayes said fixing its European operations will be "a long slog."
Morgan Stanley analyst Adam Jonas said in a research note that it was the first time GM's Europe unit topped Wall Street expectations in nearly two years and the first year-over-year improvement in results in five quarters.
The international unit, which includes China, had an operating profit of $495 million, while South America recorded a small $38 million loss. Both results were weaker than expected.
Ammann said strong results in China were offset by weakness in the rest of the international operations. He said the South America business is expected "to build" this year on last year's profit.
GM said adjusted free cash flow in the quarter was a negative $1.3 billion due mostly to the lower earnings and timing-related items that it said would reverse during the rest of the year.
The Detroit automaker ended the quarter with total liquidity of $35.3 billion in its automotive business.
Treasury officials declined to say whether the rise in GM's stock price could accelerate the sale of its remaining stake. According to GM's proxy, Treasury still owned more than 241 million shares as of April 17, so it would need to sell at an average of about $79.03 a share to break even.
Federal officials said last week that Treasury had recovered about $30.4 billion of its investment in GM as of the end of March. In January, Treasury initiated a prearranged written trading plan to sell the rest of the stake.
The government got an 18 percent GM stake following the $49.5 billion bailout in 2009.
(Reporting by Ben Klayman and Deepa Seetharaman; Editing by Jeffrey Benkoe)
Covering any and all things with solar panels would be an awesome way to get power, but the bulk and expense of the tech we've got today makes it a little less than practical. But wonder-material-at-large graphene is shaking up the scene with ultra-thin solar panels and, maybe someday, solar-powered paint.
Flying insects are a pain this time of year, but Harvard researchers couldn't be happier about the bug buzzing around their lab. A study published in Science today announced the world's first controlled flight of an insect-size robot, the result of a decade-long project by the Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences and the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard.
Modeled after a housefly, the tiny robot weighs less than a tenth of a gram and is about half the size of a paperclip. Its two delicate wings can flap independently at up to 120 times per second. At that speed they're barely even visible to the human eye.
"The motivation was to explore basic research questions about how insects fly, and to apply those lessons to making very small mechanical devices," researcher Kevin Y. Ma tells PM. The scientists chose flies, he says, because of their extreme maneuverability and agility. Building robots that duplicate a fly's aerial talents could let scientists design tiny machines that monitor the environment for certain chemicals, aid in search-and-rescue missions in collapsed buildings, or even aid in the pollination of crops as artificial bees. That's all down the road, Ma says. "It's an exciting challenge, but we're really interested in the design process, and what we can learn from it."
One breakthrough needed to build such a small flying bot was a new manufacturing process. Ordinary ways to make stuff were either too big or too small for the scale of an insect-size robot. "Traditionally," Ma says, "you have a nuts-and-bolts manufacturing process. But our robot is the size of a bolt, so we can't really use that." On the other end of the spectrum are microelectromechanical systems, which are used for manufacturing cell phone circuits and other very small mechanical structures. But this is for devices on the scale of micrometers, and the Harvard team wanted to build a structure with features on the order of a millimeter to a centimeter?10 or 100 times larger than that.
The answer, Ma says, is to make 2D structures and fold them into 3D?a little like origami. He says this technique is becoming widespread in other fields, where engineers are using it to build instruments for laparoscopic surgery, for example. In the manufacturing process, thin layers of material (in the case of the flying robot, carbon fiber?reinforced composites) are laser cut and stacked, then fused into a single flat piece. By using a combination of materials, the designer can create structures that have both rigid beams and flexible joints, which unfold into a 3D structure like a pop-up book. The insect has five layers of carbon fiber, two plastic layers to provide flexible joints, two brass layers for locking the final 3D structure into place, one layer of titanium to mimic insect wings, and two ceramic plates to actuate them.
But then there's the issue of power and computing speed. Current prototypes of the fly bot are tethered to a power source by a thin cable and controlled by a connected computer. There just aren't fuel cells or computational processors that can fit on the robot's tiny frame and operate efficiently. To fulfill their potential, these mini-machines need to go out in the world without a leash. With current tech, researchers estimate only a few minutes of flight using onboard power systems small enough not to hinder movement. The team hopes that high density fuel cells will get even smaller in the coming years and could serve as onboard battery packs.
Meanwhile, biologists on the team continue to study living flies, hoping to better understand how they perform such impressive aerobatics using the tiniest of brains?another quality future robots will hopefully share with them. Real houseflies use constant wing movement (reaching nearly 200 flaps per second) to maintain flight. Flies use three different aerodynamic mechanisms to stay airborne: When an insect sweeps its wing forward, it creates a vortex of air above them, creating lift. When the wing rotates backward, air is pulled over the top faster than the bottom, producing a force called a backspin?similar to the spin that makes a tennis ball stay in the air. And when the wing changes direction, it passes through the vortex created by the opposite stroke, extracting one last bit of energy and lift from it. Flies change direction so quickly because their wings move independently, allowing them to lift one higher than the other and steer.
The robot, unlike some previous prototypes, also has independent wings. Made out of ceramic, the artificial flight muscles rely on piezoelectric movement?the property that makes materials like ceramic expand and contract with the application of an electric field. Plastic hinges translate these tiny movements into flaps of a wing, and a control system commands rotational motions separately in each.
While their tethers keep them from flying with quite the finesse of a real bug, the robots did well in lab flight tests?the researchers were able to demonstrate stable hovering at a fixed point (with position errors of one body length of the robot) and sustained flights of longer than 20 seconds without any crashes. They were also able to make the robots fly laterally between two fixed points.
In a Harvard press release, project leader Robert J. Wood emphasized that this study is just the beginning. "Now that we've got this unique platform," he said, "there are dozens of tests that we're starting to do, including more aggressive control maneuvers and landing."
May 1 (Reuters) - Post position for Saturday's 139th Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs after Wednesday's draw (listed as barrier, HORSE, jockey, trainer) 1. BLACK ONYX, Joe Bravo, Kelly Breen 2. OXBOW, Gary Stevens, D. Wayne Lukas 3. REVOLUTIONARY, Calvin Borel, Todd Pletcher 4. GOLDEN SOUL, Robby Albarado, Dallas Stewart 5. NORMANDY INVASION, Javier Castellano, Chad Brown 6. MYLUTE, Rosie Napravnik, Tom Amoss 7. GIANT FINISH, Jose Espinoza, Tony Dutrow 8. GOLDENCENTS, Kevin Krigger, Doug O'Neill 9. OVERANALYZE, Rafael Bejarano, Todd Pletcher 10. PALACE MALICE, Mike Smith, Todd Pletcher 11. ...
If you're a hardcore podcast follower, the odds that you use a better third party option on your iPhone or iPad like Instacast is probably pretty high. If you own a Mac, you can now rejoice as Instacast finally has a Mac version. It's in beta for now so you'll have to be understanding about bugs and oddities you may experience.
If you've never really cared for the way iTunes handles podcasts, and lets face it, most don't, taking a look at the beta of Instacast for Mac may not be a bad idea since the official version will undoubtedly come with a price tag just like its iOS counterpart. It's hands down one of the best alternative podcast apps available for iOS and we'd expect pretty much the same of their Mac version. So if you'd like to try before you buy, hit the source link below for a download link.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Construction spending dropped to a seven-month low in March as public outlays recorded their largest drop since 2006, which could cause the first-quarter economic growth estimate to be trimmed.
Construction spending fell 1.7 percent to an annual rate of $856.72 billion, the lowest level since August, the Commerce Department said on Wednesday. Spending had increased 1.5 percent in February.
Economists polled by Reuters had expected construction spending to rise 0.7 percent in March.
The across-the-board decline in construction spending was the latest indication that the economy exited the first quarter with less momentum and suggested tighter fiscal policy was starting to take a toll.
The report also raised the risk of a downward revision to the government's moderate growth estimate of a 2.5 percent rate for the first quarter.
Construction spending in March was depressed by a 4.1 percent drop in public construction projects to a 6 1/2-year low. The percentage decline was the largest since March 2002.
Outlays on federal government projects fell 1.7 percent. State and local spending, which is far larger than federal projects, tumbled 4.3 percent, the biggest drop since March 2002.
Spending on private construction projects also fell, slipping 0.6 percent. Residential spending rose 0.4 percent, but those gains were offset by a 1.5 percent drop in spending on private nonresidential structures.
(Reporting By Lucia Mutikani; Editing by Neil Stempleman)
Amped Wireless' long-gestating TAN 1 may look like a chocolate bar, but you'd probably regret dunking it in your coffee. The high-powered WiFi adapter connects over USB to Windows 8 laptops and tablets, promising to triple the range of your device's built-in wireless gear. After what seems like an age, the hardware is finally making its way to stores, and will set you back $59.99 when it goes on sale today!.
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AP) ? A Saudi official says police have detained two men, including a Shiite Muslim accused of instigating violence, after a firefight in a restive eastern region.
Interior Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Mansour al-Turki claimed in a statement Tuesday that police wounded the two in the legs during an exchange of fire in the district of al-Awamiyah in the eastern town of Qatif.
He said one of them is Abdullah bin Salman al-Sraih, one of 23 Shiites wanted for allegedly instigating violent protests demanding the release of imprisoned relatives.
Saudi Arabia has not seen unrest anywhere near the scale of the uprisings that have hit other Arab nations, but some protests have taken place in the oil-rich eastern areas home to the country's Shiite minority.
MILWAUKEE (AP) ? Dozens of air shows that draw tens of thousands of people and generate millions of dollars for local economies have been cancelled this year after the military grounded its jet and demonstration teams because of automatic federal budget cuts.
For years, the biggest draws at air shows have been the military's two elite jet teams, the U.S. Navy's Blue Angels and the U.S. Air Force's Thunderbirds, and their intricate stunts. The armed services also have provided F-16, F-18 and F-22 fighter jets and the U.S. Army Parachute Team, known as the Golden Knights. All the teams were grounded as of April 1 to save money, and the military also dramatically curtailed its help with ground displays of various aircraft.
Those cutbacks have affected more than 200 of the approximately 300 air shows held in the United States each year, said John Cudahy, president of the International Council of Air Shows. About 60 shows have been cancelled, and he expects more cancellations as the season progresses and hope for restoration of the budget cuts fades. He predicted 15 percent to 20 percent of the shows won't return next year, even if the military begins participating again.
"The worst case is that they either cancel and go out of business, or they don't cancel and they have such poor attendance and they go out of business," he said.
Local economies also will feel the sting of the cancellations without the air shows bringing in crucial tourism dollars.
Representatives for some of the nation's biggest air shows, such as the air and water shows in Chicago and Milwaukee and the Experimental Aircraft Association's AirVenture in Oshkosh, Wis., said they didn't expect a lack of active military jets to affect their events. The Chicago and Milwaukee shows are held along the shore of Lake Michigan, where large crowds are expected to gather for a free spectacle; the Oshkosh event is primarily a convention of pilots and aviation enthusiasts, with an air show attached.
But organizers of other events said they expected such a dramatic drop in attendance that they felt they had to cancel.
Thunder over the Blue Ridge in Martinsburg, W.V., an easy day trip from Baltimore and Washington, won't happen. The two-day show drew 88,000 people when the Thunderbirds performed in 2010, said Bill Walkup, one of the board members and manager of the Martinsburg airport.
"Having the Thunderbirds or the Blue Angels is like having the Super Bowl, it's a household name," Walkup said. Without a jet team, the show typically draws 15,000 or fewer.
Organizers also faced a challenge because the show had been hosted for the past few years by the West Virginia Air National Guard. After the Guard said it couldn't do that because of budget cuts, organizers considered hosting the show at the civilian side of the airport ? until the Thunderbirds cancelled.
"When this happened, it just put us out of business," Walkup said.
Maj. Darrick Lee, spokesman for the Thunderbirds, said a typical season averages about $9.75 million and the Air Force needs to focus its resources now on its mission in Afghanistan. Team members are still doing local public appearances that have little or no cost, he said.
"Would we prefer to be flying? Of course," he said. But, he added, "We encourage folks to go and have a good time with or without us."
Organizers cancelled the Indianapolis Air Show in February because of concerns the Blue Angels wouldn't participate, said Robert Duncan, chairman of the show's executive committee. The jet team makes a 25 percent to 30 percent difference in the gate admissions, and sponsors weren't signing up as quickly because of uncertainty about the Blue Angels. The committee is trying to reinvent the show for next year, perhaps by adding a 5k run, carnival games or more civilian aircraft, Duncan said.
Many air shows, including those in Martinsburg and Indianapolis, benefit charities. They also generate millions of dollars in tourism, benefiting hotels, rental car companies and restaurants. Economic impact studies indicate the shows are worth $1 billion to $2 billion nationwide, Cudahy said.
Bob Anderson, of Tallahassee, Fla., is among those whose businesses have been hurt. For more than a decade, he and his wife, Sandy, have sold Blue Angels and Thunderbirds T-shirts and other apparel at shows. In a typical year, they go to more than 20 of them and sales surpass $250,000.
This year, they went to two shows before the teams ended their seasons on April 1. Anderson, who is back to doing carpentry and home repair, said the loss of business also affects others? he spends about $90,000 a year on shirts, printing, embroidery and other supplies.
"The trickle-down effect is tremendous," he said.
Air show organizers in many communities have been scrambling to avoid additional losses.
Curt Drumm, producer and co-founder of Thunder on the Lakeshore, in Manitowoc, Wis., said he has been talking to private owners of former military aircraft and to aerobatic performers to help fill gaps left by three smaller military teams. The event usually draws 70,000 people over three days and is an important source of income for local businesses and civic groups that run food and beverage stands.
"We still have an incredible lineup of civilian performers," Drumm said. But, he acknowledged, "Without those big, noisy jets, it's not quite the same event."
Northwestern Medicine researchers work to improve heart attack response timePublic release date: 29-Apr-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Megan McCann memccann@nmh.org 312-926-5900 Northwestern Memorial Hospital
Recent study finds that door-to-balloon times can be lowered using process improvement strategies
While all heart attacks have the potential to be deadly, one type is referred to as the "widow maker" because of its high risk of death. A ST segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) is a severe type of heart attack that occurs when a blockage in a coronary artery causes heart muscle to die; without prompt treatment risk of fatality increases dramatically. Coronary angioplasty, or percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), is the most common emergency treatment for STEMI. During this procedure, an interventional cardiologist feeds a deflated balloon into the artery to the blockage where it is then inflated to open the artery and allow blood to flow to the heart muscle. Current clinical guidelines recommend that PCI be performed for STEMI within 90 minutes of the patient entering the hospital this is commonly referred to as door-to-balloon time. Recognizing the potential to save even more lives with expedited treatment, Northwestern Medicine researchers applied performance improvement strategies to lower door-to-balloon times at Northwestern Memorial Hospital, with the goal of creating an approach that could be applied to hospitals across the country. Their findings were published in the Annals of Emergency Medicine.
"Despite the current recommended 90 minutes, studies show that survival for STEMI patients decreases when door-to-balloon time exceeds 60 minutes," said principal investigator Rahul Khare, MD, assistant director of operations for Northwestern Memorial's emergency department and assistant professor of emergency medicine at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. "While some hospitals across the country achieve times under 60 minutes, there's still room for improvement. The objective of our study was to put in place process improvements that would optimize door-to-balloon times not only at Northwestern Memorial, but that could be replicated elsewhere. The goal was to reduce door-to-balloon times to 60 minutes for STEMI patients."
Khare and his team utilized a proactive risk assessment method of failure mode, effects and criticality analysis (FMECA) to evaluate door-to-balloon time process at Northwestern Memorial. Pulling together a group that included emergency department and cardiac catheterization laboratory (cath lab) staff, as well as hospital leadership, the researchers mapped out the process from when a STEMI patient arrives in the emergency department to when PCI occurs in the cath lab.
"FMECA is a commonly used risk-assessment technique that has proven successful in high risk industries including nuclear power and aviation," explained Khare. "We modified this technique to fit a clinical setting. Our team included everyone who would respond when a patient with a STEMI arrives at the hospital emergency physicians and nurses, EKG technicians, and the entire cath lab team from cardiologists to nurses, and even the secretary who answers the phone and takes the patient's information. Together, we were able to identify and evaluate 50 potential issues that could lead to a failure in achieving the goal door-to-balloon time of 60 minutes."
The group identified the causes of the process failures then ranked each based on its frequency and consequence, eventually categorizing 12 as high-risk steps. This information was then used to determine where improvements could be made when caring for STEMI patients. Using process improvement strategies and system redesign, one change put into practice by the team was to get an electrocardiogram (EKG) at arrival for any patient who came to the emergency department and stated they had chest pain.
"We found that there were factors which could cause delays in getting the EKG in our system, so we changed our operations so that the EKG was done when the nurses were getting the patient's vital signs," said Khare.
By identifying risks and implementing changes in process, the team achieved significant improvements in door-to-balloon times. "Our door-to-balloon times decreased by an average of 20 minutes," said Khare. "We saw the most significant and sustained benefits during off hours, which include overnights and weekends. Door-to-balloon times improved by 25 percent. What's truly amazing is that the 15 to 20 minute improvement in door-to-balloon time will decrease the overall death rates of these patients."
A benefit of the FMECA approach is that it brings together all members of the care team, which lead to enhanced communication and understanding of the different roles that each clinician plays in the patient care. Emergency department and cath lab staff were oriented and educated about the roles and responsibilities of the other members of the care team, which they may not have been exposed to previously.
"This research is an excellent example of the team work and quality improvement initiatives that occur at Northwestern Memorial to assure our patients are receiving the best care possible," said Mark J. Ricciardi, MD, director of cardiac catheterization and interventional cardiology at Northwestern Memorial and associate professor of cardiology at the Feinberg School. "With the emergency department and cardiac catheterization teams working together to identify areas for improvement, we now consistently achieve door-to-balloon times that far exceed the national benchmarks for heart attack care."
Khare's goal is for the work done at Northwestern Memorial to serve as a model for hospitals across the country as they seek to implement change and improve care for heart attack patients.
"While every institution is unique, this performance improvement model can be applied at other academic and community hospitals, to identify their own vulnerabilities and potential failures in door-to-balloon time systems and processes of care," explained Khare. "We're also hopeful that this approach can be applied when responding to other emergent clinical conditions, such as stroke."
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Northwestern Medicine is the shared vision that joins Northwestern Memorial HealthCare and Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in a collaborative effort to transform medicine through quality healthcare, academic excellence and scientific discovery.
To find a physician at Northwestern Memorial, call 312-926-0779.
About Northwestern Memorial HealthCare
Northwestern Memorial HealthCare is the parent corporation of Chicago's Northwestern Memorial Hospital, an 894-bed academic medical center hospital and Northwestern Lake Forest Hospital, a 201-bed community hospital located in Lake Forest, Illinois.
About Northwestern Memorial Hospital
Northwestern Memorial is one of the country's premier academic medical center hospitals and is the primary teaching hospital of the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. Along with its Prentice Women's Hospital and Stone Institute of Psychiatry, the hospital has 1,705 affiliated physicians and 6,769 employees. Northwestern Memorial is recognized for providing exemplary patient care and state-of-the art advancements in the areas of cardiovascular care; women's health; oncology; neurology and neurosurgery; solid organ and soft tissue transplants and orthopaedics.
Northwestern Memorial has nursing Magnet Status, the nation's highest recognition for patient care and nursing excellence. And, Northwestern Memorial ranks 12th in the nation in the U.S. News & World Report 2012 Honor Roll of "America's Best Hospitals". The hospital is ranked in 12 of 16 clinical specialties rated by U.S. News and is No. 1 in Illinois and Chicago in U.S. News' 2012 state and metro rankings, respectively. For 12 years running, Northwestern Memorial has been rated among the "100 Best Companies for Working Mothers" guide by Working Mother magazine. The hospital is a recipient of the prestigious National Quality Health Care Award and has been chosen by Chicagoans as the Consumer Choice according to the National Research Corporation's annual survey for 13 years.
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Northwestern Medicine researchers work to improve heart attack response timePublic release date: 29-Apr-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Megan McCann memccann@nmh.org 312-926-5900 Northwestern Memorial Hospital
Recent study finds that door-to-balloon times can be lowered using process improvement strategies
While all heart attacks have the potential to be deadly, one type is referred to as the "widow maker" because of its high risk of death. A ST segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) is a severe type of heart attack that occurs when a blockage in a coronary artery causes heart muscle to die; without prompt treatment risk of fatality increases dramatically. Coronary angioplasty, or percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), is the most common emergency treatment for STEMI. During this procedure, an interventional cardiologist feeds a deflated balloon into the artery to the blockage where it is then inflated to open the artery and allow blood to flow to the heart muscle. Current clinical guidelines recommend that PCI be performed for STEMI within 90 minutes of the patient entering the hospital this is commonly referred to as door-to-balloon time. Recognizing the potential to save even more lives with expedited treatment, Northwestern Medicine researchers applied performance improvement strategies to lower door-to-balloon times at Northwestern Memorial Hospital, with the goal of creating an approach that could be applied to hospitals across the country. Their findings were published in the Annals of Emergency Medicine.
"Despite the current recommended 90 minutes, studies show that survival for STEMI patients decreases when door-to-balloon time exceeds 60 minutes," said principal investigator Rahul Khare, MD, assistant director of operations for Northwestern Memorial's emergency department and assistant professor of emergency medicine at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. "While some hospitals across the country achieve times under 60 minutes, there's still room for improvement. The objective of our study was to put in place process improvements that would optimize door-to-balloon times not only at Northwestern Memorial, but that could be replicated elsewhere. The goal was to reduce door-to-balloon times to 60 minutes for STEMI patients."
Khare and his team utilized a proactive risk assessment method of failure mode, effects and criticality analysis (FMECA) to evaluate door-to-balloon time process at Northwestern Memorial. Pulling together a group that included emergency department and cardiac catheterization laboratory (cath lab) staff, as well as hospital leadership, the researchers mapped out the process from when a STEMI patient arrives in the emergency department to when PCI occurs in the cath lab.
"FMECA is a commonly used risk-assessment technique that has proven successful in high risk industries including nuclear power and aviation," explained Khare. "We modified this technique to fit a clinical setting. Our team included everyone who would respond when a patient with a STEMI arrives at the hospital emergency physicians and nurses, EKG technicians, and the entire cath lab team from cardiologists to nurses, and even the secretary who answers the phone and takes the patient's information. Together, we were able to identify and evaluate 50 potential issues that could lead to a failure in achieving the goal door-to-balloon time of 60 minutes."
The group identified the causes of the process failures then ranked each based on its frequency and consequence, eventually categorizing 12 as high-risk steps. This information was then used to determine where improvements could be made when caring for STEMI patients. Using process improvement strategies and system redesign, one change put into practice by the team was to get an electrocardiogram (EKG) at arrival for any patient who came to the emergency department and stated they had chest pain.
"We found that there were factors which could cause delays in getting the EKG in our system, so we changed our operations so that the EKG was done when the nurses were getting the patient's vital signs," said Khare.
By identifying risks and implementing changes in process, the team achieved significant improvements in door-to-balloon times. "Our door-to-balloon times decreased by an average of 20 minutes," said Khare. "We saw the most significant and sustained benefits during off hours, which include overnights and weekends. Door-to-balloon times improved by 25 percent. What's truly amazing is that the 15 to 20 minute improvement in door-to-balloon time will decrease the overall death rates of these patients."
A benefit of the FMECA approach is that it brings together all members of the care team, which lead to enhanced communication and understanding of the different roles that each clinician plays in the patient care. Emergency department and cath lab staff were oriented and educated about the roles and responsibilities of the other members of the care team, which they may not have been exposed to previously.
"This research is an excellent example of the team work and quality improvement initiatives that occur at Northwestern Memorial to assure our patients are receiving the best care possible," said Mark J. Ricciardi, MD, director of cardiac catheterization and interventional cardiology at Northwestern Memorial and associate professor of cardiology at the Feinberg School. "With the emergency department and cardiac catheterization teams working together to identify areas for improvement, we now consistently achieve door-to-balloon times that far exceed the national benchmarks for heart attack care."
Khare's goal is for the work done at Northwestern Memorial to serve as a model for hospitals across the country as they seek to implement change and improve care for heart attack patients.
"While every institution is unique, this performance improvement model can be applied at other academic and community hospitals, to identify their own vulnerabilities and potential failures in door-to-balloon time systems and processes of care," explained Khare. "We're also hopeful that this approach can be applied when responding to other emergent clinical conditions, such as stroke."
###
Northwestern Medicine is the shared vision that joins Northwestern Memorial HealthCare and Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in a collaborative effort to transform medicine through quality healthcare, academic excellence and scientific discovery.
To find a physician at Northwestern Memorial, call 312-926-0779.
About Northwestern Memorial HealthCare
Northwestern Memorial HealthCare is the parent corporation of Chicago's Northwestern Memorial Hospital, an 894-bed academic medical center hospital and Northwestern Lake Forest Hospital, a 201-bed community hospital located in Lake Forest, Illinois.
About Northwestern Memorial Hospital
Northwestern Memorial is one of the country's premier academic medical center hospitals and is the primary teaching hospital of the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. Along with its Prentice Women's Hospital and Stone Institute of Psychiatry, the hospital has 1,705 affiliated physicians and 6,769 employees. Northwestern Memorial is recognized for providing exemplary patient care and state-of-the art advancements in the areas of cardiovascular care; women's health; oncology; neurology and neurosurgery; solid organ and soft tissue transplants and orthopaedics.
Northwestern Memorial has nursing Magnet Status, the nation's highest recognition for patient care and nursing excellence. And, Northwestern Memorial ranks 12th in the nation in the U.S. News & World Report 2012 Honor Roll of "America's Best Hospitals". The hospital is ranked in 12 of 16 clinical specialties rated by U.S. News and is No. 1 in Illinois and Chicago in U.S. News' 2012 state and metro rankings, respectively. For 12 years running, Northwestern Memorial has been rated among the "100 Best Companies for Working Mothers" guide by Working Mother magazine. The hospital is a recipient of the prestigious National Quality Health Care Award and has been chosen by Chicagoans as the Consumer Choice according to the National Research Corporation's annual survey for 13 years.
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Internet Sales Tax Bill Gains Ground In Senate Rate Topic:
#1 ? Zanu Bob?
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Posted Yesterday, 10:08 AM
http://www.nytimes.c...-in-senate.html
' WASHINGTON ?
It has been labeled a tax grab and a bureaucratic nightmare by conservative antitax activists, an infringement on states? rights and a federal encroachment on the almost-sacred ground of Internet commerce.
Yet legislation to help states force online retailers to collect sales taxes easily cleared its first procedural hurdle on Monday evening, and even its fiercest opponents are looking to the House for a last stand. The Senate voted 74-20 to take up the legislation for debate and amendment.
The bill, known as the Marketplace Fairness Act, is that rare piece of legislation that has turned Democrat against Democrat, Republican against Republican and business against business, while uniting states as different as New Hampshire, Montana and Oregon ? which have no sales taxes ? against virtually every other state.
An odd confluence of events has swung the political momentum to one side. Less than a week after the Senate could not muster 60 votes to expand gun background checks supported by a vast majority of voters, lawmakers from both parties are poised to steamroll opponents and greatly broaden the imposition of sales taxes on the Internet.
Under the bill, online retailers would collect an estimated $22 billion to $24 billion that now goes uncollected. A final vote is expected in the Senate by the end of the week. When the House will take up the issue is uncertain.
Old-fashioned retailers are going bust, leaving towns marred by vast, empty storefronts. Those that remain complain of ?showrooming,? when shoppers inspect their wares, then leave the store to buy the same products on the Internet, finding lower prices and avoiding sales taxes.
Republicans including Senators Mike Enzi of Wyoming and Lamar Alexander of Tennessee are as adamantly in favor of the bill as Democrats.
Finally, Senate Democratic leaders needed a bill to move to quickly after gun legislation all but died last week, and the Internet tax bill was ready.
President Obama on Monday threw his support behind the bill, which the White House said ?will level the playing field for local small business retailers that are in competition every day with large out-of-state online companies.?
The bill would allow states to require all Internet sellers to collect sales taxes for the state and local governments of the buyers. State governments would be required to provide software free to Internet retailers to calculate sales taxes. Online retailers with out-of-state sales of less than $1 million a year would be exempt.
Many of the largest Web retailers have already begun collecting sales taxes. Amazon.com has joined a vast constellation of brick-and-mortar retailers in collecting taxes, leaving eBay to fight an increasingly lonely battle. In March, the Senate held a test vote of sorts, a nonbinding amendment to the Senate budget that mirrored the Marketplace Fairness Act. '
the interweb is destroying a whole layer of tax revenues,pension plans and economic wealth built on shopping.they had to do soemthing.wonder how they'll balance it out here?
Blaming greed for a banking crisis is like blaming gravity for an airplane crash. Injin 10/12/2009 (a rare moment of clarity)
Red Kharma, on 31 May 2010 - 11:51 AM, said:
Most gold buyers will get creamed, eventually and for the very reasons they think they won't.
#2 ? durhamborn?
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Posted Yesterday, 10:42 AM
Do you know who is pushing this the hardest? Amazon.
Why? Because it will destroy the thousands of small internet sellers and those who use Ebay.
Amazon is building vast warehouses in run down states and in return is getting deal that exempt it from certain tax.
This isnt about protecting the shops.Its about Amazon killing off the one thing that can be more competitive than them and long term destroy their business.Small internet retailers with websites and on Ebay.
#3 ? geezer466?
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Posted Yesterday, 11:05 AM
durhamborn, on 28 April 2013 - 10:42 AM, said:
Do you know who is pushing this the hardest? Amazon.
Why? Because it will destroy the thousands of small internet sellers and those who use Ebay.
Amazon is building vast warehouses in run down states and in return is getting deal that exempt it from certain tax.
This isnt about protecting the shops.Its about Amazon killing off the one thing that can be more competitive than them and long term destroy their business.Small internet retailers with websites and on Ebay.
You have knocked the nail on the head Durham.
Many small retailers were lured in by Amazon and listed their products only to become dismayed at the amount of commission they were charging.
Subsequently they lost faith and bailed out of Amazon only to find Amazon never ever deleted their product listings. So searches for their products Amazon now outrank them in google even though they mark the product out of stock and with no resupply date.
The march of the globalists and their moves to eradicate the small people gathers pace.
Google search results in the last year or so are now freezing out the smaller operators in favour of the bigger brands. Some schools of thought take the view this is what panda and penguin updates was about.
An example, if I want a small cosy hotel close to Lake Windermere I want a list of independent hotels which I can compare. I don't want booking.com at the top of the list and other operators like tripadvisor and laterooms trying to get me to buy what they consider I want based on the amount of commission they can screw from the hotel. Half the time these places won't even return results in the area I want.
This is the space for the signature thingy.........
#4 ? GradualCringe?
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Posted Yesterday, 11:15 AM
durhamborn, on 28 April 2013 - 10:42 AM, said:
Do you know who is pushing this the hardest? Amazon.
Why? Because it will destroy the thousands of small internet sellers and those who use Ebay.
Amazon is building vast warehouses in run down states and in return is getting deal that exempt it from certain tax.
This isnt about protecting the shops.Its about Amazon killing off the one thing that can be more competitive than them and long term destroy their business.Small internet retailers with websites and on Ebay.
It's "Baptists and Bootleggers" legislation i.e. ostensibly to make sure everyone "pays their fair share" (Baptist side of the argument), however, sponsored and lobbied for by a huge corporate to create a legal monopoly.
#5 ? Executive Sadman?
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Posted Yesterday, 01:02 PM
Yep. What ive heard is the big boys will easily cope with this, processing the tax code for 50+ states. If your'e a small supplier, it will be near impossible, and hugely expensive.
Its just using govt to create another barrier to entry and thwart any semblance of a free market and consumer choice. Hence why majorities of both parties are on board.
Is the tax due? Or is the bill coming in to force tax to be charged in the buyer's state? If it is needed, then how can the likes of Amazon etc already be collecting these sales taxes?
And isn't this just the same as the VAT scene in the EU? If you are selling your goods in another EU country then, subject to a smallish threshold (and much less that $1m) you need to start charging local rates of VAT to your consumers?
And finally if the threshold is $1m, then doesn't this protect the smaller businesses that some of the earlier posts portray as the victims here? And more, protect those local small businesses in the states where sales tax is levied already?
The facts above belong to everybody; the opinions to me.... the distinction is yours to draw.
#7 ? happy_renting?
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Posted Yesterday, 02:33 PM
Red-Cardinal, on 28 April 2013 - 01:30 PM, said:
Am not sure what is going on here?
Is the tax due? Or is the bill coming in to force tax to be charged in the buyer's state? If it is needed, then how can the likes of Amazon etc already be collecting these sales taxes?
And isn't this just the same as the VAT scene in the EU? If you are selling your goods in another EU country then, subject to a smallish threshold (and much less that $1m) you need to start charging local rates of VAT to your consumers?
And finally if the threshold is $1m, then doesn't this protect the smaller businesses that some of the earlier posts portray as the victims here? And more, protect those local small businesses in the states where sales tax is levied already?
"Online retailers with out-of-state sales of less than $1 million a year would be exempt."
A little confusing here - does that mean $1m of on-line sales, or $1m of sales in total? Some retailers will sell on-line, over the phone, and also from a shop.
Does the sales tax apply depending on the state the seller is in, or the buyer is in? It would seem the latter. So what happens if you buy from a bricks-and-mortar shop? Do they check to see what state you live in? I doubt it. Are there customs at state boundaries? Nope.
It does seem unfair that shop sellers have to charge tax, but online sellers don't. But it may be unfair because sales are taxed, period.
So this legislation means that if you go into an Oregon shop, you will be able to buy tax-free, and take it home to, say, NY. But if you buy online from an Oregon shop, you will have to pay NY sales tax when it is delivered to you. In other words, it's still going to be a mess.
I thought European VAT rule inconsistencies were bad enough.
#8 ? gadget?
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Posted Yesterday, 03:48 PM
Executive Sadman, on 28 April 2013 - 01:02 PM, said:
. If your'e a small supplier, it will be near impossible, and hugely expensive.
What ARE you talking about?
It's basic functionlaity already built into any accounting package or online selling software they're already using.
And even if not it'll take about an hour in Excel to work out.
It's not even a increase in taxes: the taxes are already due it's just with the sellers not charging it the buyer is meant to go down his local tax office and settle up.
#9 ? durhamborn?
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Posted Yesterday, 03:49 PM
happy_renting, on 28 April 2013 - 02:33 PM, said:
"Online retailers with out-of-state sales of less than $1 million a year would be exempt."
A little confusing here - does that mean $1m of on-line sales, or $1m of sales in total? Some retailers will sell on-line, over the phone, and also from a shop.
Does the sales tax apply depending on the state the seller is in, or the buyer is in? It would seem the latter. So what happens if you buy from a bricks-and-mortar shop? Do they check to see what state you live in? I doubt it. Are there customs at state boundaries? Nope.
It does seem unfair that shop sellers have to charge tax, but online sellers don't. But it may be unfair because sales are taxed, period.
So this legislation means that if you go into an Oregon shop, you will be able to buy tax-free, and take it home to, say, NY. But if you buy online from an Oregon shop, you will have to pay NY sales tax when it is delivered to you. In other words, it's still going to be a mess.
I thought European VAT rule inconsistencies were bad enough.
First once in whos to say this wont be reduced.Also this puts a massive ceiling on online sales and a business growing.This is simply Amazon mainly trying to kill small business.Ebay is fighting hard to stop it because it will hit hard a lot of their small business sellers.
Amazon are losing the battle against smaller sellers.Many warehouses now offer very similar systems to Amazon for small sellers.I use one.Amazon cant compete and they want to kill these small companies.
The internet is the one place a small person can take on the big companies.Amazon want to kill that.
#10 ? easy2012?
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Posted Yesterday, 03:56 PM
gadget, on 28 April 2013 - 03:48 PM, said:
What ARE you talking about?
It's basic functionlaity already built into any accounting package or online selling software they're already using.
And even if not it'll take about an hour in Excel to work out.
Really? Do you mind showing me some links to these accounting packages ?
You tend to be able to create those codes - but that is a hugely laborious process for a small business (and nothing for AMZN of course). An example here: http://crmconsultanc...lude-tax-codes/
Also these rates changes from time to time (even UK VAT went from 15% to 17.5% then back to 17.5% and then 20%). The sales tax exemption list also changes from time to time.
Now, the online shopping carts also need to take into account of these rates.
Quote
It's not even a increase in taxes: the taxes are already due it's just with the sellers not charging it the buyer is meant to go down his local tax office and settle up.
Then clearly we should just do nothing ( why waste congress time) and just let the buyer do what they meant to do then..
This post has been edited by easy2012: Yesterday, 04:02 PM
#11 ? easy2012?
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Posted Yesterday, 03:56 PM
durhamborn, on 28 April 2013 - 03:49 PM, said:
First once in whos to say this wont be reduced.Also this puts a massive ceiling on online sales and a business growing.This is simply Amazon mainly trying to kill small business.Ebay is fighting hard to stop it because it will hit hard a lot of their small business sellers.
Amazon are losing the battle against smaller sellers.Many warehouses now offer very similar systems to Amazon for small sellers.I use one.Amazon cant compete and they want to kill these small companies.
The internet is the one place a small person can take on the big companies.Amazon want to kill that.
Durhamborn - do you mean the fullfillment service ?
#12 ? Secure Tenant?
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Posted Yesterday, 04:03 PM
durhamborn, on 28 April 2013 - 10:42 AM, said:
Do you know who is pushing this the hardest? Amazon.
Why? Because it will destroy the thousands of small internet sellers and those who use Ebay.
Amazon is building vast warehouses in run down states and in return is getting deal that exempt it from certain tax.
This isnt about protecting the shops.Its about Amazon killing off the one thing that can be more competitive than them and long term destroy their business.Small internet retailers with websites and on Ebay.
Don't a lot of small businesses selling on Ebay also sell on Amazon and other sites?
Was recently playing around with software called Linn Works, which is stock inventory and shipping inventory software for online traders and it integrates with Ebay, Amazon as well as Magento and other e-commerce sites.
Linn Systems also produce software called "Mean Pricer" or something which allows to monitor and undercut competitors on Amazon. Your own race to the bottom, if the comp also has the same software!
The other thing that the traditional items such as s/h CD's and DVD's now seem almost unsellable unless you let them go often less than they cost to post and pack.
This post has been edited by Secure Tenant: Yesterday, 04:08 PM
Secure Long Term Tenancies For All - Don't Accept AST Crap
#13 ? LJAR?
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Posted Yesterday, 04:10 PM
gadget, on 28 April 2013 - 03:48 PM, said:
It's not even a increase in taxes: the taxes are already due it's just with the sellers not charging it the buyer is meant to go down his local tax office and settle up.
Nope - there is case law in the US stating that sales tax is not due on items sold over the internet in different states. if you sell over the internet in the same state, then tax is due. Otherwise, no.
@ durhamborn - spot on.
#14 ? durhamborn?
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Posted Yesterday, 04:16 PM
easy2012, on 28 April 2013 - 03:56 PM, said:
Durhamborn - do you mean the fullfillment service ?
Yes,iv now got all my stock in a shared warehouse where we all book in from home and its then sent out from the warehouse.The couriers are based in the same warehouse as well.It undercuts Amazons operation.I also get the containers into there so its a one stop option.
http://www.guardian....tax-bill-amazon
Ebay lobby against it for the very reasons said on here.
#15 ? durhamborn?
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Posted Yesterday, 04:23 PM
Secure Tenant, on 28 April 2013 - 04:03 PM, said:
Don't a lot of small businesses selling on Ebay also sell on Amazon and other sites?
Was recently playing around with software called Linn Works, which is stock inventory and shipping inventory software for online traders and it integrates with Ebay, Amazon as well as Magento and other e-commerce sites.
Linn Systems also produce software called "Mean Pricer" or something which allows to monitor and undercut competitors on Amazon. Your own race to the bottom, if the comp also has the same software!
The other thing that the traditional items such as s/h CD's and DVD's now seem almost unsellable unless you let them go often less than they cost to post and pack.
Yes they do ,and so do i. However i never stock anything thats a common item as like you say on Amazon everyone cuts and cuts to be cheapest and there is no margin. Ebay is a far better platform for small companies IMO.Google drives a lot of sales. Postage is a massive problem now for online sellers and iv moved to higher value items that can carry postage easier.Mid range items are getting almost priced out now due to postage,and most of thats down to fuel costs.
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