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Camera Obscura

FWMoA National Photography Exhibition

By Dan Swartz

Fort Wayne Reader

With every year, a museum's collection and habits of collecting is evolving. While rarely is there a truly radical change in habit, for institutions of such tectonic movement, even slight changes are many times the subject of great criticism and celebration. "The National", the Fort Wayne Museum of Art's biennial exhibition, has been developed in a way over the past 6 years to highlight a single aspect of the contemporary art world. At first, "The National" was centered upon figurative work, but now it is changing to coincide with a strategic initiative being implemented in the museum's collecting habits to center upon photography. This hybrid invitational/juried exhibition includes some "photography stars" like Julie Blackmon, Martina Lopez, and Nick Veasey, it is much more exciting to see the other, many times younger artists as their work takes forms and the viewer can see new dominant voices being created before them.

While all of the works are interesting in some degree or another, "The National" does seem to include a rather extreme focus on both the landscape and the figure, with very few examples of abstraction. While it is true that even in these landscape and figurative pieces, the subject matter was stretched and examined in a variety of new ways, this viewer could not help but come to see some images as feeling almost repetitive at times. And while many critics would complain about such a focus on photography in general, "The National" does a very good job of undeniably asserting photography as a versatile medium, and one which will not become stale or fall short anytime soon. As the exhibition's curatorial statement includes, " In terms of aesthetic quality, technical innovation, and cultural relevance, contemporary photography has increasingly proven its dominance as a 21st Century art form." "The National" include a large variety of great talent, but three photographers' work would seem to stand out more than the others, including Morgan Barrie, Ashley Beatty, and Martina Lopez.

Morgan Barrie's work, "Transplants" is a digital collage in an archival pigment print. This piece of given second prize, and was purchased by the museum. Part of her current body of work "In Arcadia", which deals with relationships between humans, animals, and the environments in which they inhabit. Barrie's images lack the common romanticisms garnered in the modern concept of man and nature being capable of co-habitating and highlights the disarming power mechanics given to most interactions between the natural and the man-made. Barrie's work, from a purely technical standpoint, plays off of Renaissance traditions be they composition, the shape of the picture plane itself, and even color and lighting. These staged scenes are meticulously created to give subtle clues as well as loud booming reminders of the true nature of our relationship to nature in general. "Transplants" does this through

Ashley Beatty, a Fort Wayne native, is represented with "NV Skirt #1", a digital print depicting a pristine Western landscape inhabited only by a barely dimensional piece of stark white cloth hovering out and inside of the picture plane. Beatty's artist statement includes, "My work has involved the creation of photographs that are both visual observation and conceptually set up images that allude to a story". Beatty's work becomes an extension of herself in a way. Beyond the boundaries of, but very similar to the concept of "blogging", Beatty's photographs become indelible indications of the experiences she has encountered, grappled with, and ultimately assimilated in her journey. This process if referenced elsewhere in her statement with a mention of synthesis and antithesis. While Beatty's work is a fabricated piece of life which none of us have had - an experience born out of communication rather than reality. The work is not a representation of Beatty's understanding of her experiences, but more an tool with which she explains them.

Martina Lopez's work "Elsewhere" and "Self-Portrait" are both technically exquisite pieces of photography which haunt the viewer, both due to their construction, and to their surreal assertiveness. Lopez created these images as hand waxed pigment prints, itself an uncommon method, but one that uses an imperceptibly thin layer of wax to protect the image and provide it a somewhat aged (or better yet, "preserved") feeling. Lopez is a School of the Art Institute of Chicago alumni for her MFA degree, and is currently a professor at Notre Dame University. Lopez's work has been featured in Aperture Magazine, is in the collections of various major American Museums, and has garnered her representation with the Henry Art Gallery. Lopez's work within the digital realm, and the exploration of 19th century portrait and landscape work revolves around believability and malleability to some degree. In "Elsewhere", Lopez confronts the viewer with a flower-bearing woman with windswept hair standing eerily in a desolate landscape, reminiscent of the great plains region. There is no explanation of the ghostlike figure and it is as if the photo represents a vision, a fabrication or collision of various memories perceived simultaneously.

Other impressive contributions to "The National" include the Fort Wayne native, Jason Swisher's "Rumsey Alley", a digital print using his signature multiple exposures and vignette motifs, as well as Frances Denny's "Hope in the guest bedroom (Maine), which is a perfect and crisp moment. Also, Yijun Liao's "Home-made Sushi" from her "Experimental Relationships" series of work was quite interesting, in that it documents the actions between herself and younger boyfriend as they explore gender norms in relation to both sex and power. All of these artists, and more, present a vast array of beautiful photographic work in "The National", what is bound to become a successful venture for our Museum and our local arts scene.

For More Information:
"The National: Best Contemporary Photography"
Now-June 15th
May 31: Martina Lopez Lecture, 2-4pm, $10 guests

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Highest Tax Rates across the World for Individuals

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    Thanks Karan Batraji,

    A very interesting post. Many of the viewers would like to see.
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Newfield resident Perry Andrews has taken out nomination papers to run for selectman, assessor and overseer of the poor.

So far, Andrews is the only candidate for the position to take out papers, which are due at the town clerk's office by Wednesday, Jan. 28. Voters will fill the position during Newfield's annual town meeting in March.

Andrews and his wife, Robin, have lived for 20 years in Newfield, where they operated their own logging business and raised their two children, Amber and Travis.

While his children were in school, Andrews got involved with their athletics, particularly as a football and baseball coach. He also helped raise funds for the teams.

Now that his children have graduated, Andrews said he has extra time on his hands and would like to dedicate it to the town.

Andrews is following in the footsteps of his relatives, who also involved themselves in Newfield's politics. His mother, Joanne Andrews, has been a selectmen for the Town of Limerick for several years. His grandfather was a selectmen in Newfield. His grandmother, Hilda Perry, owned a real estate business on Water Street and also got involved in Newfield's government.

For the past 30 years, Andrews has been a partner with his parents, raising more than 50 head of Herefords on a farm in Limerick. He also has volunteered on the Limerick Fire Department for 12 years and has been a lieutenant for 8 years.

The local group named Protecting Our Water and Wildlife Resources will meet from 6:30 to 8 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 5, at the ATV Club on Route 11 in Shapleigh.

Anyone interested in joining the group is encouraged to attend.

The local organization formed for the purpose of helping to protect the town's water rights from large companies.

At next week's meeting, guest speakers Gail Darrell and Ellen Hayes will be on hand to speak about water rights ordinances and community empowerment.

Darrell is a member of the first New Hampshire town to pass a Local Self Government and Water Rights Ordinance. Hayes is the director of Advocates for Community Empowerment.

For more information, vsend an email to

Refreshments will be available at the meeting.

Donations Needed at Shelter

York County Shelter Programs in Alfred needs the following personal care products for their residents: shampoo, soap, toothbrushes, toothpaste, conditioner, deodorant, feminine hygiene products, razor blades, and shaving cream.

Items may be dropped off at the shelter on Shaker Hill Road in Alfred; they will be distributed from there.

Anyone not able to drive to Alfred may drop off donations at Thelma Connell's house on Bridge Street. Call her at 793-2128 for more information or contact Mary Doyle at the shelter at 324-1137.

In related news, the shelter also needs furniture for its new welcome centers. York County Shelter Programs provides shelter for previously homeless individuals and families. Providing a welcoming center brings the homeless into the program, giving them the shelter that is needed.

The shelter needs such furniture as twin beds, full sized beds, table lamps, floor lamps, cribs, high chairs, bureaus, couches, rocking chairs, stuffed chairs, bean bag chairs, small round kitchen table and chairs, vacuum cleaners, twin bed sheets, full bed sheets, curtains, vertical blinds, stoves, refrigerators, desks, filing cabinet, copier, fax machine, phone, children's desks, shower curtains, toilet brushes, cleaning supplies, and kitchen equipment.

Please call Tom at 324-1137 to make arrangements for a drop-off. Locally, call Thelma at 793-2128.

Bangor Savings Needs Your Vote

In a statewide campaign for Community Matters More, Bangor Savings Bank is giving Maine residents the opportunity to vote for their favorite nonprofit organizations.

Ballots are out and can be picked up at the bank or locally through Thelma Connell.

The bank is donating $100,000 to 68 local nonprofit organizations, and it needs residents' help in deciding how best to distribute the funds.

In York County, there are six organizations that are on the ballot: Counseling Services, Incorporated; Sweetser; York County Community Action Corporation; York County Food Pantry; York County Shelter Programs; and Saco Bay Trails.

Voters may include any other organization that they feel are equally deserving.

Voting ends on March 2. Afterward, the bank will award its grants.

Call Thelma at 793-2128 for a ballot or visit online at

Local Resident Passes Away

Elmer Dunbar, of West Newfield, died on January 12 as the result of a stroke at the age of 96.

Mr. Dunbar and Martie, his wife of 65 years, moved to the area in 1976 after his retirement from working as a mason. Before his employment, he served in World War II.

He was born and raised in Ipswich, Massachusetts.

Mr. Dunbar is survived by a son, Bill, and his wife, Anna, a daughter, Elaine, and a grandson, Craig.

A memorial service for him will be held in the spring. Donations in his memory may be made to the Newfield Rescue Squad, P.O. Box 170, West Newfield, Maine 04095.

Country Cupboard

Those little bitty chocolate morsels that we all know and love can be used for more than just cookies. Practically everyone has had a love affair at one time or another with chocolate morsels. Nestle's is, of course, the well-known brand, but others are just as tasty. I purchase the 72-ounce bag of Nestle's, but Guittard also has a super large bag of chocolate morsels. The recipe that I have found in the "Nestle Recipe Collection" is for Chocolate Pumpkin Muffins.

Chocolate Pumpkin Muffins

1 1/2 cups of flour

1/2 cup of sugar

2 teaspoons of baking powder

1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon of salt

1 cup of milk

1/2 cup of solid pack canned pumpkin

1/4 cup of melted butter

1 egg

1 6 oz. package of semi-sweet chocolate morsels

1/4 cup of finely chopped nuts, optional

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon and salt; make a well in the center. In a small bowl, combine milk, pumpkin, butter and egg, then add to well in flour mixture. Add semi-sweet chocolate morsels and stir until dry ingredients are just moistened. Spoon mixture into greased muffin cups, filling each 3/4 full. Sprinkle 1 teaspoon of nuts over each muffin. Bake at 400 degrees for 18-20 minutes. Cool for 5 minutes, then remove from pan. Cool completely on wire racks.

It has been brought to my attention that the position of a MSAD 57 school board director is a paid one. The director who is elected during the town's next election will attend four meetings each month and 45 each year and will be paid for each one attended.


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Back to All Events

Launch Party & Shinnenkai with Franklin Street Policy Group

Venue information is shared only with invited attendees. Click here to request an invitation, join our community, or update your profile.

Official Launch Party & Shinnenkai

We're excited to formally launch Franklin Street Policy Group nearly a year after we first had the idea to bring together people working in and across the security, business, and development sectors and put their collective energy and expertise to address global challenges.

A shinnenkai (sheen-nen-ka-ee) is a Japanese celebration of the New Year with friends or colleagues, with plenty of promises of collaborative work and rounds of drinks for the year ahead. Since ideas exchanged over good food, wine, and spirits is a basic premise of our business model, we thought this was the perfect way to kick off 2016.

Earlier Event: January 4
First Mondays: January Policy Salon
Later Event: February 1
First Mondays: February Policy Salon


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Mar 022017

I’ve been saying for years that real estate prices in Canada are not that high. Certain areas like Vancouver and Toronto have the perception of being unaffordable. But the fact that population growth is still positive in these major cities suggests otherwise. If these places weren’t affordable then people would be moving out of them, not in. 🙂

People from all the world have wants. These wants turn into demand, which fuels certain parts of the economy. And what do young adults want right now? According to an HSBC survey, the “vast majority” of millennials want to buy property.

Demand from Young People

HSBC bank polled 9,000 people from 9 different countries: Canada, Australia, China, France, Malaysia, Mexico, the UAE, the U.K. and the U.S. The results include some interesting numbers about the housing market among individuals between ages 18 and 35, which the bank defines as millennials.

37% of millennials said they had financial help from the bank of mom and dad to cover their housing costs. Canada is roughly in the middle of this trend.

A little over a third of Canadian millennials polled already owned their own home, and among those who didn’t, 82% say they intend to buy one within the next 5 years. Thus, housing must be relatively affordable, because even at the lowest earning stage of their careers, most people either already own property, or have the means to own in the foreseeable future. They are also willing to sacrifice a lot in order to become homeowners.

The results of the HSBC study shows that Canadian real estate may not be in a bubble. Funeral costs, health care costs, and tuition have also grown at a faster pace than inflation over the decades, but most people don’t label those sectors of the economy as becoming a bubble. So I don’t think housing is overpriced either.

Continue reading »

May 052016

The Pessimism in the Markets

Corporate profits have been disappointing lately. Apple (AAPL) recently said its revenue fell for the first time in 13 years due to a decline in iPhone sales compared to the same time last year. Apple shares are worth 26% less now than a year ago. Investors are warned the decline could continue. 🙁 Other publicly traded companies are experiencing similar challenges. Top line growth is slowing down, and its becoming harder to maintain profitability levels.

A recent article on suggests that future investment returns for millennials will be lower than prior years. It cites a study by consulting firm, McKinsey & Co, which proposes that “the forces that have driven exceptional investment returns over the past 30 years are weakening, and even reversing.” So maybe it’s time for investors to lower our expectations.

Lower Investment Returns for Millennials

The last 30 years was actually a bit of an anomaly because on average we’ve had a couple of percentage points better annual returns when compared to the past 100 years in general. Falling inflation rate has helped drive real returns, and bond prices increased substantially as interest rates fell for the last couple of decades. 🙂 But going forward we may face secular stagnation and a lack of economic growth due to an older population. Let’s take a look at the study’s findings, and future return estimates.

Regarding U.S. equities for the time being, it appears growth in the following 20 years will be 1.4% to 3.9% lower than in the past 30 years. The director of the study, Richard Dobbs, warns that the people who will lose out the most are the millennials. Oh no. That’s me! It appears we’ll have to either work longer or find other ways to put more money in our retirement accounts. The alternative is to retire poorer and live off government cheese, which is actually a luxury in Canada considering the expensive tariffs we have on dairy products, haha. 😀

Preparing for the Next 20 Years

So here are a few of things I’m doing to deal with all this information. They may not work for you, but I will share anyway.

First, the most important thing is to lower the cost of investing. This is even more crucial if market returns will underperform in the future. Using the numbers from the graph above, the average return on U.S. equities over the last 30 years was 7.9%. So if our management fee and other combined costs were 1%, then our actual return would be 6.9% after fees. The 1% fee would effectively eat away 13% of our actual market return.

But the “slow-growth scenario” claims that over the next 20 year period the annual return of U.S. equities will be only 4%. If we still pay the same 1% portfolio fee as before, then this cost will eat away 25% of our future annual return, nearly twice as high in percentage proportion to a 7.9% market return. Bummer. 🙁

So how can we lower pesky fees and reduce the overall cost of investing? It’s simple. 🙂

How do we reduce the long term costs of plumbing? We learn some basic DIY plumbing skills. How do we reduce the cost of food? We learn to cook and meal plan. How do we reduce the cost of car repairs? We learn some basic knowledge about car maintenance like how to check the tire pressure, change the oil and air filter, etc. We can reduce the cost of any aspect of our lives by simply educating ourselves on the subject. 😉

So if we want to lower our investment fees, we just have to better understand how to invest and manage our own money. With the advent of ETFs and robo-advisors, I hope everyone reading this blog is paying less than 1% management fee on their portfolio. If you’re interested to learn more about low cost wealth management services, check out the thorough review about Wealthfront, that my friend Jacob wrote on his blog.

Continue reading »

Sep 182015

Millennials Create Their Own Opportunities

Some people believe millennials are the screwed generation because there are no jobs for us. And that we have every right to be angry at the older generation for pillaging public coffers, taking on loads of debt, and leaving the broken economy for the younger generation to fix.
But I don’t see it that way. So what if there aren’t a lot of high paying jobs out there for young workers anymore? Any job is a good job because any income is better than no income. The world can be an amazing place if we just lower our standards a bit. 😀
And just because there are no jobs, it doesn’t mean there is no work. Jobs are given to us, but work can be self created. Don’t ask what the world can give us. Ask what we can produce for the world instead. 😉 Starting a small business is easy. When I was 14 I shovelled snow for my neighbours during the winter. Clearing each driveway earned me $10. Cutting grass would be a great opportunity to make money in the summer. There are plenty of busy households who would gladly pay $25 for someone else to mow their lawn every couple of weeks. Their time is valuable. And all that’s required for this to happen is for some proactive entrepreneur to go knock on their door and say, “Hey, here’s what I can do for you. How about it?”
We can also develop knowledge based skills to make money. Being the first group of people to grow up with cell phones, laptops, and the internet millennials have a technological advantage over other working adults today. We can create a free blog in minutes. Social networks keep us informed and enable us to discuss our ideas with anyone from anywhere on the planet. We can download entire first year courses from Yale, Harvard, and other universities for free from their websites. There are non-profit organizations, such as the Khan Academy, which have free lectures on subjects like math, science, computer programming, history, art, philosophy, economics, and more. There’s also plenty of informational YouTube videos that teach everything from how to put on make-up, to how to start a small business, to how to make ricotta and spinach ravioli. ? Yum! Access to information is so ubiquitous today we can develop any knowledge based skills we desire to learn! And then use our new expertise to earn an income.

Continue reading »

May 212014

Talking heads often say that young adults are struggling more than older generations in this economy. But a recent BMO report suggests that millennials are doing just fine compared to what their parents went through at their age. The study compares the financial situations of young adults today (age 25 – 34) to that of young adults from 3 decades ago.

Millennials looking for jobs today have a 93% chance of finding one (not bad,) compared to only 90% for those in the mid-1980s due to a higher unemployment rate back then. So don’t feel discouraged if you can’t find a job right away 🙂 Just remember that your parents probably had it worse.

The median income of people between 25 to 34 rose from $33,900 in 1984-1988, to $34,700 in 2011, after adjusting for inflation. This means we can buy 2% more goods and services than our parents could in 1984 haha 🙂 #feelingrich. Median net worth of households of generation Y was $52,000 in 2012, almost double that in 1984 ($28,752 in 2012 constant dollars.) Wow.

I understand where the older generation comes from when they say “Kids these days. They don’t know how good they have it.” The recession they experienced in the 80s must have been pretty bad 🙁 But then again, maybe it’s not a fair comparison because the world was such a different place back then 😕

While many baby boomers prospered financially in the past thirty years, one could say that their children are starting new careers and families on an equal, if not firmer, footing in most regions.”
~Sal Guatieri, BMO economist.

As a millennial I realize that on average we do have more debts today than our parents did 30 years ago. And the costs of education and real estate have outpaced inflation so certain things are definitely less affordable to us. But we have better job opportunities than our parents did. We are better educated. We have higher incomes and more purchasing power. We have almost twice as much wealth (net worth) than they had. We even have access to new innovations like the internet and smart phones, which make our lives so much easier. So I’m just glad things aren’t worse for us right now 😀

Random Useless Fact: Sometimes evolution can backfire.

Aug 072013

Read an article describing the current lifestyles of many young Americans. According to a Pew Research Center analysis, 36% of adults between 18 to 31 were still living with their folks in 2012. It used to be 32% just 5 years ago. I’ve heard people are getting married later in life. Maybe leaving the nest later is part of the reason 😕 But here’s what caught my attention, millennial males (40%,) were “significantly more” likely to live with mom and dad than millennial females (32%.)

Adult sons are expected to do less housework, and are given more freedom than daughters so it’s easier for a young man to live at home and still feel independent than for a young women, which is probably why “women tend to mature, emotionally, faster than men,” says the chair of the psychology department at Golden Gate University in San Francisco. Furthermore young women today tend to outperform men in post-secondary education. 71% of female high school grads last year were accepted into college, but only 61% of males managed to do the same, according to the US government’s Bureau of Labor Statistics. Females also tend to finish college faster than males and have a better chance to find a job afterwards with an out of school unemployment rate of 11% compared to the guys at 16%.

Ladies: Congrats 😀 You are doing really well for yourselves. Keep it up!
Guys: Dagnabbit ( >_<) Some of you losers are making the rest of us male millennials look like a bunch of spoiled, lazy, pampered, immature, freeloading, disgraceful, good-for-nothing, piles of rubbish 😡 No wonder why women around Vancouver complain about how the men here suck and lack motivation. Haha, I’m just teasing 😛 Don’t give up guys 🙂

The following are some random comments by other people on the internet. Continue reading »


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AutoCAD Essentials

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Designed as the first course text covering the fundamentals of AutoCAD. Basic commands and techniques are presented along with common drafting practices and standards. The format provides instant reinforcement of the topics.AutoCAD Essentials is designed to assist you in learning the fundamentals of AutoCAD . ... Then, after you have answered as many questions as possible, search through the chapter to find the answers to the remaining questions. The drawinganbsp;...

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Gravity Worm (Stephen Cakebread)

Use the cursor keys to control the blocks and space to switch between worms. [Author’s description]

[Download for Windows]

  1. Wow, this was a really nice puzzle game that I missed 🙂 I like how you can never get to a point where you have to reset, just fiddle around some more until you get it right


text:
United States Patent 3638858

A temporary heating system for buildings under construction requiring hot air for drying plaster, paint, mortar and the like. A portable high-capacity burner is placed in a doorway leading to the outside of the building on the lowest floor to be heated. The burner is baffled to have the burner intake outside the building and the hot products of combustion and air blown inside into an elevator shaft which then conducts the hot air to the upper levels. The elevator doors and the windows of the building are used as flow regulators for their respective floors.

Application Number:
Publication Date:
Filing Date:
Primary Class:
Other Classes:
International Classes:
F24H3/04; (IPC1-7): F24D5/02
Field of Search:
263/19 237
View Patent Images:
US Patent References:
3050111Crop dryer1962-08-21Hubbard et al.
2579158Heating system1951-12-18Scheu
1706199Method of drying moist rooms, buildings, and the like1929-03-19Wagner

Primary Examiner:
Favors, Edward G.
I claim

1. In combination a multilevel building and a temporary heating system therefor, said system comprising a tubular burner for generating a continuous stream of hot gases, said burner being disposed in a substantially horizontal position on a lower level within the building and having inlet and outlet openings, said building having an opening to the outside thereof at said lower level, a baffle for the opening in the building and extending around the burner to expose the air inlet of the burner to the outside of the building and to shield the hot gases from the outside at said building opening, a vertical shaft in the building for access to upper levels therein, said shaft having door openings at a plurality of building levels, the outlet opening for the burner directing the stream of hot gases from the burner toward said shaft to direct hot gases thereinto, said door openings in the shaft being selectively manipulatable for regulating the amount of hot gases entering each of the building levels.

2. A temporary heating system as described in claim 1, a duct interposed between the outlet of the burner and the shaft for conducting a major portion of the hot gases from the burner to the shaft, said duct being spaced from the burner to permit the remainder of the hot gases to pass around the duct into said lower level.

This invention relates to temporary heating systems for buildings under construction, or whose heating plant is not functioning.

In multilevel buildings under construction or undergoing extensive remodeling, certain construction materials such as plaster, dry wall, mortar, cement, paint, wallpaper, etc., must be dried as evenly and as rapidly as possible to prepare the building for early occupancy. This means that uniformly hot dry air in adequate quantities must be circulated throughout the building during the drying period and for such time as the external air temperature may be at a damaging level. At these times the heating plant for the building, particularly in new construction, may not be operational so that it becomes necessary to provide a temporary source of hot air for the building until its own heating plant can be put in operation.

Heretofore, temporary heating units for buildings under construction have taken the form of small individual burners, usually oil fired, and of a capacity sufficient to supply, at best, one floor of the building with hot dry air. No provision was made in the burners for automatically limiting the maximum temperature of the hot air emanating therefrom so that they could not be left unattended for fear that they would overheat.

The principal object of this invention is to provide a temporary heating system for large buildings under construction the capacity of which is large enough to supply the entire building, including all floors thereof, with adequate quantities of hot, dry air to promote drying of construction materials used therein.

As a more specific object, this invention has within its purview the provision of a temporary heating system for a multilevel building having a vertical shaft such as an elevator shaft or a stair well, the shaft having doors opening on each level, wherein use is made of the shaft and doors in connection with a compact, high-capacity portable heating unit to distribute hot air from the heating unit to all levels of the building.

These and other objects of this invention, will become apparent from the following detailed description when taken together with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a fragmentary plan view of a single level in a multilevel building showing the temporary heating system of this invention as used therein;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged elevational view of the building and heating system of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a still further enlarged side elevational view in section of the heating unit taken along line 3--3 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is an elevational view in perspective of the heating unit of FIG. 3; and

FIG. 5 is an enlarged end elevational view of the heating unit of FIG. 1 as installed.

In its preferred form, this invention is comprised of a high-capacity burner and blower in the form of a cylinder, mounted on a wheeled frame to provide portability for the unit. Any suitable fuel supply may be used, but it may take the form of gas piped to the unit from a city natural gas main, or from a tank of propane gas. The size of the unit may be selected to adapt it for a relatively wide range of building sizes to be heated, and the output of the unit may thus be adjusted to furnish from 500,000 B.t.u.'s per hour to 2,000,000 B.t.u.'s per hour. A blower on the unit mixes the outside air with the products of combustion. The unit is installed in a doorway or window on the lowermost level of the building to be heated, with the intake end extending out of the doorway. The output end is directed toward an open elevator shaft and the elevator doors on upper levels opening on the shaft serve as valves to admit desired amounts of heated air to the level associated with the door.

Referring now to the drawings for a detailed description of the invention, and particularly to FIGS. 1 and 2, the invention is shown applied to a multilevel building 10 having a ground floor 11 and upper floors 12, 13 and 14. For purposes of illustration the building is shown as having a roof 15, but said roof may in fact be the next higher floor which, although formed, may not be ready for heating, i.e., the materials requiring heating for their drying and setting have not yet been applied to that floor. Each of the floors 11 to 14 are shown completed to the extent that windows 16, 17 and 18 have been installed so that such heated air as may be supplied to floors 11-14 can be retained in these levels, or allowed to leave at a controlled rate through windows 16, 17 and 18 as it becomes saturated with moisture, to be replaced by hot dry air.

Building 10 will have an elevator shaft 19 extending vertically from the ground level 11 through each of the levels above, said shaft in the illustrative example having continuous rear and side walls 20, 21 and 22, and a front wall in which may be provided elevator doors 23, 24, 25 and 26, should the construction of the building be advanced to the point where such doors have been installed. Said doors 23-16, if installed, may be used to control the entrance of air from elevator shaft 19 to the levels associated with said doors.

Hot dry air is supplied to building 10 by a high-capactiy portable heater 27 shown in FIGS. 3 and 4. In the example illustrated, the heater is in the form of a cylindrical sheet metal tube 28 having an inlet end 29 and an outlet end 30. Tube 28 is mounted on a frame 31 which is, in turn, mounted on a pair of spaced wheels 32 on which heater 27 may be wheeled from place to place. A tongue 33 is provided by which heater 27 may be pushed or pulled, either manually, or by appropriate automotive power.

Within tube 28 is disposed a burner 34 which is preferably of the gas type because of the cleanliness of its products of combustion. Said burner may be supplied with gas from a source 35 which may be a portable container of propane gas or a city main containing natural gas supplied by a public utility. Air for combustion and for mixing with the products of combustion is provided by a motor-driven fan 36, the inlet to which is protected by a screen 37.

Heater 27 is placed in a doorway or low window 38 (FIG. 5) on the lowest floor to be heated. In the building illustrated herein, this is the ground floor 11, but in a building of many floors the heater may be moved up to higher levels as the lower levels are completed. The doorway is closed by a temporary covering or baffle 29 of plywood, steel, or heavy cloth, and an opening is made in covering 39 through which inlet end 29 and tongue 13 extend to the exterior of the building.

It may be noted that tube 28 is relatively short and although the gases issuing therefrom are directional so that they will travel in the direction in which the outlet end 30 is pointed, tube 28 may of necessity be located some distance from door 23 so that the hot gases may be dissipated throughout ground floor 11 and the pressure thereof diminished at door 23 to the point where not enough gases enter elevator shaft 19 to heat the upper levels adequately, while the ground floor receives too much of these gases. To alleviate this condition a temporary cylindrical duct 40 (FIGS. 1 and 2) is used. This duct may be made of sheet metal or alternatively, of canvas or sheet plastic and made sufficiently rigid by any appropriate supporting means (not shown) to retain its intended cross-sectional shape. Although a cylindrical shape conforms most closely to the cross section of tube 28, other shapes, such as square or rectangular will also be effective. Duct 40 is supported on spaced frames 41 so that it is coaxially disposed with reference to tube 28, and it is of a length to extend approximately from tube 28 to door 23 of elevator shaft 19.

It is not intended that duct 40 conduct to elevator shaft 19 all of the gases issuing from heater 27, but only the excess over the amount required on ground floor 11. Duct 40, therefore, is located a short distance from end 30 to leave a space 42 between the duct and end 30 so that some of the gases escape around the outside of duct 40 into the ground floor area. The amount of gases escaping can be regulated by changing the spacing between duct 40 and tube 28, or by selecting a duct which is of smaller cross section than tube 28. In this latter case, space 42 may be considerably, reduced and with appropriate differences in cross-sectional area between the duct and tube, eliminated entirely.

The circulation of the hot gases throughout building 10 is shown by arrows in FIGS. 1 and 2. Those not escaping through space 42 into the ground level 11 pass through tube 40 and into elevator shaft 19 where they rise and escape through doors 24, 25 and 26 into levels 12, 13 and 14. By regulating the degree of opening of doors 24, 25 and 26, the quantity of gas entering each level is regulated. Entrance of gases into a level is also regulated by the degree of opening of the windows on that level, the level on which the windows are open the widest receiving the greatest volume of gases.

Heater 27 is provided with automatic controls located in a box 42 mounted on the side of tube 28. Said controls are of a type presently supplied with grain dryers manufactured by American Dryer Division of AFE Industries, Inc. located at 340 East Main Street, Lake Zurich, Illinois. These include a thermostatic upper temperature control which automatically shuts off burner 34 when the temperature in the vicinity of the heater exceeds a predetermined value. Included also is a control for making certain that air is flowing through tube 28 before burner 34 is operated, and a manual reset gas valve for maximum safety.

In the typical example of heater described above, i.e., one having a capacity of 500,000 B.t.u.'s to 2,000,000 B.t.u.'s per hour, fan 36 may have a diameter of 18 inches and deliver 8,000 c.f.m. of air to the burner.

Although the foregoing temporary heating system has been described with reference to its use as a means for drying construction materials, it can, of course, be used to supply heat to a building which is of skeletal form, without walls and windows, but which has been supplied with temporary plastic or canvas walls so that workmen installing basic piping, sewers and conduits can work in relative comfort on very cold days. Also where the building has no elevator shaft, but has a stair well with doors opening upon the stair well, duct 40 may be directed into the well to supply hot air to upper levels in the building. On the other hand, where duct work in a building is completed, but the heating unit for the building is not operational, duct 40 may be a part of the completed ductwork, and the hot air from burner 27 may be directed throughout the building by said ductwork. It is understood, therefore, that the foregoing description is merely illustrative of a preferred embodiment of the invention and that the scope of the invention is not to be limited thereto, but is to be determined by the appended claims.


text:
Zinc and strontium ion containing effervescent mouthwash tablet
United States Patent 3888976

A Zinc and Strontium Ion Containing Effervescent Mouthwash Tablet comprising an effervescent couple, and a Zinc or Strontium Ion Containing astringent-desensitizing agent, flavoring, color, sweetener and other additives may be added to the basic formula. Upon dissolution a solution is produced which gives a cleansing mouthwash effect, effective desensitizing action to the teeth, and gingival toning. This solution forms a desirable and unique basis for the addition of further agents which will aid in control of plaque, breath sweetening, anti-Microbial effect, decay prevention, water purification, and long lasting effect of all above mentioned.

Mlkvy, William P. (Holland, PA)
Tucci, Raymond J. (Yardley, PA)
Application Number:
Publication Date:
Filing Date:
Primary Class:
Other Classes:
International Classes:
A61K8/19; A61K8/27; A61K9/46; A61Q11/00; (IPC1-7): A61K9/00; A61K11/02; A61K11/04
Field of Search:
View Patent Images:
US Patent References:
3772431N/A1973-11-13Mlkvy et al.

Other References:

Brown, H. K., J. Can. Dental Assoc., 16:523-526, (1950), "Status of Dental Caries Preventive Measures in 1950.".
Primary Examiner:
Rose, Shep K.
Attorney, Agent or Firm:
Caesar, Rivise, Bernstein & Cohen
Parent Case Data:

This application is a continuation - in - part application based on Application Ser. No. 290,914, filed Sept. 21, 1972 and entitled "Effervescent Mouthwash Tablet" now U.S. Pat. No. 3,772,431, dated Nov. 13, 1973.
What is claimed as the invention is

1. An effervescent mouthwash tablet comprising an effervescent couple consisting of at least one each of a solid pharmaceutically acceptable acid and a solid pharmaceutically acceptable base material, which effervescent couple reacts to produce carbon dioxide when dissolved in water causing effervescence, and an effective amount of strontium ion, zinc ion and mixtures thereof as an astringent-desensitizing agent.

2. The tablet of claim 1 wherein said astringent and desensitizing agent is strontium chloride.

3. The tablet of claim 1 wherein said astringent and desensitizing agent is zinc chloride.

4. An effervescent reaction product produced when the tablet of claim 1 is dissolved in water, said product having a pH of about 5.

This invention relates to an effervescent tablet, including a Zinc or Strontium Ion which, when dissolved in water produces a solution which makes it uniquely desirable for use as a mouthwash.

The use of mouthwashes in liquid form is well known and popular. However, for many years, the appropriation of a mouthwash from a dry powder has had appeal because it is freshly made instead of having been contained in a bottle for a long period of time. The application of this principle to an effervescent formula has surprisingly attracted little attention, although offering advantages of freshness, taste and effectiveness, as will be set forth hereinafter.

Furthermore, it has been difficult for a traveler, such as a tourist or a camper, to carry liquid mouthwash with him because of weight, fragility or bulk. Furthermore, shelf space is a problem at the retail outlet or even the home and so the provision of a number of tablets is easily preferable to a pint of liquid or the bulky sizes greater than a pint. Also, a tablet being of powder is not subject to atmospheric changes or temperature changes and would be convenient for use by the airlines or on a ship. The tablet would be useful even where the quality of drinking water is a problem since the formula can be modified to include a water purification chemical.

Effervescent tablets for producing cleaning compositions have been formulated in the past.

The concept of an effervescent tablet has been previously recognized in U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,450,865, 2,105,690, 2,540,253, 2,985,562, 2,999,293, 3,102,075, 3,105,792, 3,136,692 and 3,653,914. Also to be considered is U.S. Pat. No. 3,518,343 which introduces an anti-microbial substance into the effervescent tablet as well as a special tablet lubricant. It should be noted, however, that each of the prior arts has had as it's primary purpose avoidance of technical difficulties associated with the production and tableting of the effervescent tablet. The primary consideration was not for the development of a useful and acceptable mouthwash tablet, but of a produceable effervescent tablet with mouthwash application. The formulas in each instance produce a sweet, pleasant-tasting, colored mixture, not unlike a soda drink.

Heretofore, astringent-desentizing agents have been regarded as unacceptable because of their apparent insolubility in the presence of a carbonate or bicarbonate. These agents will be later outlined with the solution as presented by the present invention. The lack of said agents in previous effervescent mouthwash tablet formulations is most likely responsible to some degree for the noted absence of a commercially acceptable and practically useful effervescent mouthwash tablet. It is our purpose to produce an effervescent mouthwash tablet which will be not only palatable in appearance and taste, but which will have the dual role of producing an astringent mouthwash effect and desensitizing action, and which form will lend itself ideally and uniquely to the additions as outlined in our claims for long lasting plaque control, decay control, anti-microbial action, breath sweetening, whitening, and water purification.

Without this basic and necessary astringent-desensitizer, the tablet with all additives will be unappealing and therefore non-useful.

The effervescent granulation can be selected from formulations well known to those skilled in the art. The composition consists of at least one each of a solid acid and solid basic material which react to produce CO2 when dissolved in water, causing the effervescence. The acid may be an organic such as fumaric, citric, tartaric, etc., or a corresponding anhydride or an inorganic, such as sulfamic or phosphonic acid derivitave as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,325,357. The basic material can be any of the metal carbonate salts such as alkali or alkaline earth carbonates and bicarbonates. Lithium, sodium, calcium carbonates or bicarbonates are examples of such materials. Certain combinations of the acids and bases are preferable to others. In the present invention, the tablet is prepared as follows:

I. Basic Effervescent Granules: Parts by weight ______________________________________ Citric Acid, Hydrous 32.4 Tartaric Acid 50.4 Sodium Bicarbonate 95.4 ______________________________________

Tartaric acid and sodium bicarbonate are passed through 40 mesh screen, neither are pre-heated as is usually directed. Materials blended and heated on a water bath in a porcelain evaporating dish. Mixture is stirred as it becomes moist with glass or stainless steel device (temperature about 85° C. under dish). Screen through 8 mesh screen and heat to two hours in oven at 40° C. When damp granules are dry, push through 16 mesh screen and store over silica gel or equivalent desiccant.

The astringent-desensitizing agent may be:

1. Tannic Acid and the tanin group.

2. Dilute or weak salts of the metals such as zinc chloride, stannic chloride, strontium chloride, alums, aluminum chloride and acetate.

3. Dilute organic acids such as basic acid. Examples of the foregoing are:

1. Zinc chloride and other zinc ion compounds as disclosed herein.

2. Strontium chloride and other strontium ion compounds as disclosed herein.

3. Thymol

4. Silver nitrate

5. Sodium Carbonate (anhydrous)

6. Trichloroacetic acid

7. procaine hydrochloride

8. Potassium hydroxide

9. Phenol

10. Oil of clove

11. Eugenol

12. Crissote

13. Chlorobutanol

14. Ammoniacal silver nitrate

The use of strontium chloride in aqueous solution has presented difficulties in the past because the strontium chloride has a very low solubility product in prescence of carbonate and bicarbonate. The resulting precipitation would be undesirable because the insoluble precipitate would undoubtedly be available to function as an astringent-desensitizing agent and there would be further objection from an appearance standpoint.

With the present invention, it is now possible to maintain the strontium ion and/or zinc ion or vice versa in aqueous solution at a 2 to 15% by weight concentration through the use of effervescent granulation formula No. 1 that maintains a solution ph of about 5 during the course of carbon dioxide generation. Furthermore, the tablet will dissolve in water in twenty to thirty seconds to produce a clear aqueous solution that has effective astringent and desensitizing properties.

A common dental problem is that of extra sensitive teeth. When the dentin or cementum of the tooth is exposed because of faulty brushing, abrasion, gum diseases, etc., then cold, heat, sour, sweet, or pressure contacts these areas and causes discomfort. In aqueous solution the strontium ion is released. This ion appears to have a strong absorptive affinity for the organic fraction of calcified tissue (dentin and cementum). The higher the organic content the greater the absorption. The strontium ion was shown to be effective in relieving sensitivity by virtue of its apparent biocolloidal binding and blocking actions. The ions penetrate into the dentinal tubules in depth. This is consistent with the hypothesis that as the strontium ion binds with the biocolloidal of the organic matrix, an effective blockade is established to disrupt the transmission of external stimuli to the dental pulp.

FORMULA A1 FORMULA A2 __________________________________________________________________________ Effervescent granulation 1.20 (grams) 1.20 (grams) (61.95%) Granular Mannitol 0.400 0.400 (20.65%) green color 0.002 0.002 (0.10%) Ascorbic Acid 0.100 0.100 (5.16%) Strontium Chloride 0.040 0.100 (5.16%) Sodium Saccharin 0.020 0.020 (1.03%) Sodium Benzoate 0.015 0.015 (0.77%) Peppermint Dry Flavor 0.100 0.100 (5.16%) 1.877 1.937 (99.98%) FORMULA B Effervescent granulation 1.20 (grams) 58.97% Granular Mannitol 0.300 14.74% Ascorbic Acid 0.100 4.91% Strontium Chloride 0.300 14.74% Sodium Saccharin 0.020 0.98% Sodium Benzoate 0.015 0.74% Peppermint Dry Flavor 0.100 4.91% 2.035 99.99% __________________________________________________________________________

Another astringent and desensitizing agent is zinc chloride. This is especially desirable for its astringent effect, giving good gingival toning and very good feeling to the mouth after use. It also is an effective desensitizer. However, its action, rather than one of binding and blocking with the strontium ion released from the strontium chloride, is an action of cauterization of the exposed dentinal tubules. It thereby establishes an effective blockade, disrupting the transmission of external stimuli to the dental pulp. Zinc chloride may be used as the sole astringent-desensitizer or may be used in conjunction with the strontium chloride, enhancing the effect of each. When used in conjunction with each other, it shall be called as astringent-densensitizer system. In the event that it becomes difficult to work with zinc chloride, then ammonium aluminum sulfate and potassium aluminum sulfate may be utilized as alternative astringents.

The active astringent and desensitizing agent may be any one of those mentioned above or may be a combination where one has a cauterizing effect, and the other a binding effect; one enhancing the other.

It has been further determined that the astringent and desensitizing agent may be an effective amount of strontium ion, zinc ion and mixtures thereof and need not be specifically either strontium chloride or zinc chloride, although these remain the preferred compounds. For instance, it is possible to use zinc bacitracin, zinc iodate, zinc iodide, zinc sulfate, zinc glucinate and zinc acitate. Strontium salts usable within the scope of the invention are strontium iodide, strontium nitrate, strontium lactate and strontium acitate. Tests involving certain of the foregoing are now set forth.

FORMULA C ______________________________________ INGREDIENT WGT. PER TABLET % ______________________________________ Basic Effervescent Gran. 1.200 g. 51.0 Granular Mannitol 0.392 16.7 Turquoise Green 0.008 0.3 Zinc Sulfate 0.300 12.7 Strontium Chloride 0.300 12.7 Menthol (or Thymol- ET2-HV) 0.300 1.3 Sodium Saccharin 0.010 0.4 Sodium Benzoate 0.015 0.6 Spray Dried Flavor, Peppermint 0.100 4.2 2.355 99.9% FORMULA D INGREDIENT WGT. PER TABLET % ______________________________________ Basic Effervescent Granulation 1.200 g. 49.5 Granular Mannitol 0.392 16.2 Turquoise Green 0.008 .3 Zinc Gluconate 0.400 16.5 Strontium Chloride 0.300 12.4 Sodium Saccharin 0.010 .4 Sodium Benzoate 0.015 .6 Spray Dried Flavor, 0.100 4.1 Peppermint 2.425 g. 100.0 % ______________________________________

Identical with Formula D except Zinc Acetate 0.400 g. replaces Zinc Gluconate. This formula gives an acceptable solution but the tablets would be very difficult to make due to the hygroscopicity of Zinc Acetate.

Identical to Formula D except that Zinc Nitrate 0.300 g replaces Zinc gluconate.

FORMULA G ______________________________________ INGREDIENT WGT. PER TABLET % ______________________________________ Basic Effervescent 1.200 g. 56.5 Granulation Granular Mannitol 0.392 18.4 Turquoise Green 0.008 .4 Strontium Lactate 0.100 4.7 Zinc Sulfate 0.300 14.1 Sodium Saccharin 0.010 0.5 Sodium Benzoate 0.015 0.7 Spray Dried Flavor, 0.100 4.7 Clove Oil 2.125 g. 100.00 ______________________________________

Identical to Formula G except that Strontium acetate 0.100 g replaces Strontium Lactate.

It must be kept in mind that in using acceptable compounds, including the zinc and strontium ion, that special consideration must be given ph, concentration, achievement of sharp astringent taste, the provision of a clear solution, non-toxicity and the prevention of caries.

Desensitizing agents have been used in toothpaste form. The value of these agents in an effervescent mouthwash form is evident. The act of brushing and the paste itself act as abrasives. A mouthwash is gentle, non-abrasive, and in effervescent tablet form has the added advantage of being easily used in situations where toothbrushing and carrying of a liquid mouthwash would be impractical. This is an important consideration as the effect of the desensitizer is cumulative. In actual preparation of the effervescent mouthwash tablet it would be important to incorporate certain other substances which would greatly add to the value of the tablet to the consumer. However it is felt that without the basis of the present invention as stated, these additional substances would not be acceptable in effervescent mouthwash tablet form.

In actual preparation, consideration has been given to the use of an anti-microbial agent.

The invention contemplates additional active ingredients, but this is by way of the more specific aspects of the invention. The invention as previously described in itself constitutes an effective mouthwash tablet, but the ingredients to be discussed hereinafter contribute other desirable properties and so will be incorporated many times in the basic formula. These additional ingredients include an anti-microbial agent, an adherent, a chelating agent and Vitamin C as well as the usual tablet lubricants.

The preferred anti-microbial agent is cetyldimethylbenzylammonium chloride. Many anti-microbial agents may be used, including phenol and its homologs and derivatives such as alkyl phenols, halogenated phenols, polyhydric phenols and a diphenyl and similar aryl derivatives. Other anti-microbial substances are set forth in U.S. Pat. No. 3,518,343 and such substances, as specifically mentioned in columns 4 and 5 of said patent, and elsewhere throughout said patent, are expressly incorporated herein by reference.

However, with the present invention it has been discovered that the use of anti-microbial agent is not enough to launch an effective attack into tooth decay and the mechanism which causes tooth decay.

A prime cause of tooth decay is believed to occur with the formation of mucin which is an albuninoid substance found in the mouth. Mucin acts as a binding material to hold bacteria, calcium and food debris together in a mass that is collectively referred to as plaque. Mucin is insoluble in water, but is precipitated by Vitamin C. With the precipitation of mucin, in conjunction with the present invention, a synergistic effect is achieved by virtue of the anti-microbial agent and the chelating agent of the present invention.

The present invention contemplates the action of Vitamin C, which when present in sufficient quantities, will cut the mucin and this will have a significant effect in minimizing the amount of mucin that remains active to create plaque. The chelating agent will hold calcium ions in solution and retard the deposition of calcium ions in the remaining plaque, as allowed by the minimal amount of mucin. Finally, the anti-microbial agent will deprive whatever plaque is formed of any significant bacteria value, thus further deactivating the plaque and tending to defeat the formation of calculus which leads to tooth decay.

In addition, the bubbling effect produced by the effervescent granulation formula has a value in removal of plaque debris, and also stimulates the blood circulation of the oral mucosa.

Yet another important substance to be added in the actual preparation of the present invention is the use of an adherent, such as sodium benzoate, benzoic acid or polyox WSR-301, a resinous adherent. The presence of the adherent enables the entire formula to have long lasting properties. The adherent is a water soluble agent that acts as a vehicle for the active components of the formula, with the adherent in its adhering effectiveness tending to form a film on the teeth that is not readily soluble in water or saliva. Thus, such a film will persist for a considerable time, thereby holding the active ingredients in continuing contact with the teeth. This further aids in the destruction of mucin and the prevention of formation of plaque.

A chelating agent will sequester calcium in solution, without any damage to enamel, and permit it to be washed away with the effervescent formulation, thereby preventing continuing build-up of dental plaque, the primary cause of tooth decay. Preferred chelating agents are EDTA disodium dihydrogent ethylenediaminetetraacetate and the calcium chelate of disodium ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid.

Finally, it may be aesthetically desirable to add an optical whitener to the basic formula. Also, a fluoride and a water purification chemical can be added.

It is felt that these particular additives made practical through the use of the present invention, will be of inestimable value in the art of preventive dentistry. Whereas the dentist has always encouraged people to at least rinse the mouth with water, if brushing is not possible after food consumption, a palatable, astringent-effervescent mouthwash tablet makes this now possible and practical, with the added health benefits as stated.

The other components of the various formulae of said U.S. Pat. No. 3,518,343 are also incorporated herein by reference to the extent consistent with the present invention, including the tabletting and other manufacturing techniques, as well as the compaction of the tablet and the finished tablet size.

The foregoing as well as other objects of the invention are achieved by providing a balanced formula of an effervescent mouthwash tablet that can be readily formulated and compressed into tablet form by well known machinery. The product is believed to possess a long shelf life and will consistently provide an aqueous solution of good color and taste as well as clarity.

A mouthwash with plaque control agent has the following formulation:

(FORMULA NO. 1) __________________________________________________________________________ LOWER PER TABLET UPPER __________________________________________________________________________ Effervescent granulation (No. 2) 1.200 g (59.14%) Mannitol granular (20 mesh tabletting atent) 0.200 g 0.400 g (19.72%) 0.600 g Ascorbic Acid (Vitamin C) 0.050 g 0.100 g (4.93%) 0.200 g Zinc Chloride (Desensitizing) 0.050 g 0.150 g (7.39%) 0.300 g Sodium Saccharin 0.005 g 0.010 g (0.49%) 0.040 g Sodium Benzoate (100 mesh adherent) 0.005 g 0.015 g (0.74%) 0.020 Verdant Green MX 135 0.004 g (0.20%) Peppermint Dry Flavor 0.150 g (7.39%) 100.00% __________________________________________________________________________

Another formula for use in the present invention possesses the following constituent elements:

LOWER PER TABLET UPPER __________________________________________________________________________ Effervescent granulation (No. 2) 1.200 g (62.047%) Mannitol Granular (20 mesh) 0.200 g 0.400 g (20.683%) 0.600 g Ascorbic Acid (Vitamin C) 0.050 0.100 g (5.171%) 0.200 g Cetyldimethylbenzyl- ammonium chloride 0.010 0.040 (2.069%) 0.060 g Sodium Saccharin 0.005 g 0.010 g (0.518%) 0.040 g Polyox WSR-301 (resinous adherent) 0.010 g 0.030 g (1.552%) 0.050 g Versene CA (Calcium Disodium EDTA) 0.0001 g (0.005%) Verdent Green MX 135 0.004 g (0.208%) Peppermint Dry Flavor 0.150 g (7.757%) 100.000%. __________________________________________________________________________

A mouthwash tablet with resinous adherent for long lasting flavor has the following formulation:

LOWER PER TABLET UPPER __________________________________________________________________________ Effervescent granulation (No. 2) 1.200 g (58.71%) Mannitol granular (20mesh) 0.200 g 0.400 g (19.57%) 0.600 g Ascorbic Acid (Vitamin C) 0.050 g 0.100 g ( 4.89%) 0.200 g Zinc chloride (Desensitizing) 0.050 g 0.150 g ( 7.34%) 0.300 g Sodium Saccharin 0.005 g 0.010 g ( 0.49%) 0.040 g Polyox WSR-301 (resinous Adherent) 0.010 0.030 g ( 1.47%) 0.050 Verdant Green MX 135 0.004 g (0.20%) Peppermint Dry Flavor 0.150 g (7.33%) 100.00% __________________________________________________________________________

Another mouthwash tablet utilizing zinc chloride has the following formulation:

Effervescent granulation 1.200 g Granular Mannitol 0.400 Turquois Green 0.002 Ascorbic Acid 0.100 Zinc Chloride 0.150 Sodium Saccharin 0.020 Sodium Benzoate 0.015 Peppermint Dry Flavor 0.100

The use of sweeteners and flavoring agents is well known to those skilled in the art and the relative amounts may be adjusted to taste. Sodium saccharin may be used up to one per cent by weight. Flavoring agents, such as peppermint and cinnamon, may be used in amounts be weight ranging from 0.2 to 5 per cent by weight.

The adherent is preferably present in an amount by weight ranging from 0.25 to 4%.

Vitamin C is preferably present in an amount by weight ranging from 1 to 12%.

The chelating agent is preferably present in an amount by weight ranging from 0.001% to 0.010%.

The anti-microbial agent is preferably present in an amount by weight ranging from 0.5 to 4%.

The desensitizing agent is preferably present in an amount by weight ranging from 1 to 15%.

The effervescent agent is preferably present in an amount by weight ranging from 40% to 80%.

It is also contemplated that a fluorescent whitener be added to the overall formula in an amount not to exceed one per cent by weight.

The present invention further contemplates the inclusion of Vitamin E.


text:
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Word Counter - Identify Frequently Used Words

HP Learning Center - Free Software and Hardware Lessons

The HP Learning Center offers and extensive list of cheat sheets and tutorials for learning how to use various software and hardware functions. In the HP Learning Center you will find information about digital photography including Photoshop cheat sheets. The "home office" front you'll find plenty of information in both print and video format about utilizing Windows 7 and Office 2007. Need to know how to secure your wireless network? The HP Learning Center has you covered there too. All of the offerings in the HP Learning Center are freely available to anyone willing to take the time to view them.

Applications for Education
Whether you're looking for cheat sheets and tutorials for yourself or you need something to share with your students and colleagues, the HP Learning Center is a good place to start. If your school has a PC-based computer lab, posting a link to the HP Learning Center on the browser homepage of all the computer labs computers would provide your students with a ready database of assistance.

Here are some related items that may be of interest to you:
Computer Hardware in Plain English
180 Technology Tips

Creating Podcasts from Soup to Nuts

Learning and Teaching Scotland has a comprehensive guide for educators interested in creating and using podcasts in their classrooms. The guide is a series of videos covering everything from "what is a podcast?" to creating and publishing your podcasts. You can download all of the videos for viewing on your laptop or other portable device. Embedded below you will find What is a Podcast?

Another good overview of podcasting is Common Craft's Podcasting in Plain English.

Thanks to Steven Anderson for the link to Learning and Teaching Scotland.

Applications for Education
If you've ever wanted to try creating your own podcasts, Learning and Teaching Scotland's comprehensive guide will show you what you need to get started. If you're wondering what benefits there are to having students create podcasts, Learning and Teaching Scotland has that covered too.

Here is a related item that may be of interest to you:
5 Resources for Creating and Hosting Podcasts


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Monday, June 28, 2010

3 New Ways to Find Free Technology for Teachers

One of the things that has always confused some folks when I or others give them the url for this blog is the fact that I used the number 4 in the url. Often people hear the name Free Technology for Teachers and type that into their browser bars as the url for the site. If you did that in the past you would get a parked domain page. But, as of very early this morning you can now reach Free Technology for Teachers by entering, freetechforteachers (dot) com, freetechnologyforteachers (dot) com, and free-tech-4-teachers (dot) com into your browser.

Interview with Rushton Hurley from Next Vista

This morning I sat down with Rushton Hurley to talk about his non-profit video service, Next Vista. I've written about Next Vista in the past (you can read about it here), but in a nutshell Next Vista offers a human reviewed catalog of user-generated videos. Watch the video below to hear directly from Rushton about Next Vista. Make sure you watch to the end to hear about how a video project got a disengaged middle school student engaged in the classroom.


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Tuesday, January 11, 2011

P2PU - Learning for Everyone, By Everyone

Peer 2 Peer University (P2PU) is an online community of people sharing their knowledge through university-level courses. Experts volunteer their time and resources to create and facilitate courses in their areas of expertise. The courses and their associated materials are free. However, enrollment in each course is limited in order to provide an environment in which the course facilitator and their students can interact in meaningful ways. A new semester begins on January 26 and enrollment in courses is now open. Some of the courses on the course list that should be of interest to educators are Adopting and Authoring Open Textbooks, Collaborative Lesson Planning, Creative Commons 4 Educators, Introduction to Math Art, Mathematics Curriculum Development, and Psychology of Math Learning.

Learn more about Peer 2 Peer University from one of its founders in the video below.

Peer 2 Peer University 2010 from P2P University on Vimeo.

Applications for Education
If you're looking for a way to continue your professional learning this semester, take a look at the course offerings from Peer 2 Peer University. If you have students that are interested in a topic like WordPress Development that is not offered by your school, refer that student to Peer 2 Peer University to learn what they can't learn in your school.

Find Great Data Visualizations at is a community site for sharing data visualizations (aka infographics). Anyone can upload their data visualizations to the public gallery. The public gallery is divided into four categories; economy, environment, health, and energy. Visualizations in the gallery can be downloaded, printed, and or embedded into your blog or website. Some of the visualizations in the gallery, such as this one embedded below, are interactive.

Applications for Education could be a good place to find infographics to use at the start of a research activity. For example, take the infographic embedded above and ask students to research the causes of and impact of high obesity rates on communities.

Lots of Free Icebreaker and Team Builder Games

My friend Adam Bellow at EduTecher recently highlighted a great resource to have in your bookmarks at the beginning of a new semester or school year. is an online catalog of dozens of fun icebreaker and team builder activities. The activities are categorized by group size and activity type. To find an activity appropriate for your group just select your group's size then use the activity type key to find "get-to-know-you games," "team building games," or "active (break a sweat) games."

Applications for Education
In two weeks I'll be getting a new group of students in my global studies course, I'll be looking through to find a nice large group activity to help us all get to know each other.

Free Webinar - Google's Advanced Search Options

This Thursday, January 13, Google is hosting a free webinar titled Beyond the First Five Links. The webinar will introduce participants to using the advanced search tools located in the left hand panel of the search results page. Participants will learn how to discover new content without having to form complex search terms. The webinar is free, but you do have to register to participate. The webinar will be live at 3:30pm EST.

If you miss this Thursday's webinar another is scheduled for February 2.

The Google Science Fair is Now Open!

Last month I shared the news that Google would be hosting an online science fair in 2011. As announced today by Google, registration is now open.

The focus of the Google Science Fair is on STEM projects. The Google Science Fair is open to 13-18 year old students. Students can enter individually or in small teams. Google's partners in this project include National Geographic, CERN, NASA, Scientific American, and LEGO. There are some really nice prizes up for grabs. Those prizes include a trip to the Galapagos Islands and trip to CERN in Switzerland.

Entries to the Google Science Fair must be made online in the form of a Google Site. Google has posted a sample project site. Find complete entry rules here.

11 Foreign Language Resources to Try in 2011

Yesterday's list of 11 good resources to try in 2011 featured health and physical education resources. Last week I featured 55 other good resources to try in 2011. Today, I have 11 good foreign language resources to try in 2011 (I've included a couple of ESL/EFL resources in this list).

Forvo can best be described as an audio wiki for word pronunciations. One of the problems with learning to speak a language that is not phonetic is trying to figure out how to pronounce the words. Forvo hosts hundreds of recordings of word pronunciations by native speakers. Along with word pronunciations, Forvo provides some basic demographic information about each language. Forvo's content is user-supported and user-generated. New pronunciations are added on a regular basis.

WordSteps is a resource for learning the vocabulary of your choice of nine languages. To start learning vocabulary with WordSteps select the language you are trying to learn then choose a set of vocabulary words in that language. WordSteps provides six types of practice activities for each set of vocabulary words. The sets of vocabulary words are called dictionaries by WordSteps. You can use the dictionaries made by other WordSteps users or create your own dictionary. WordSteps can be used without creating an account, but in order to create your own dictionary you must create an account. The languages supported by WordSteps are English, French, Russian, Spanish, Chinese, German, Japanese, Italian, and Portuguese. The vocabulary practice activities are Flash Cards, Translation Variations, Words Variants, Alphabet Soup, Write Translation by Word, and Write Word by Translation.

LangMedia, produced by Five Colleges Incorporated, provides resources for learning languages less-commonly offered by high schools and colleges in the US. Some of the languages for which LangMedia offers educational resources are Arabic, Bulgarian, Persian, Thai, and Urdu. For these languages LangMedia provides course outlines, practice dialogues, and lists of resources necessary for completing the requirements of each course. In addition to resources for learning languages, LangMedia offers a section called Culture Talk. LangMedia Culture Talk is a collection of video clips of interviews and discussions with people from many different countries, of different ages and from different walks of life. The videos are intended to give viewers insight into the cultures of peoples around the globe. Some of the videos feature English speakers while other videos do not. Those videos that are not in English are accompanied by a written English transcript.

Voxy is an interesting approach to helping ESL students learn English. Voxy uses current articles from world news, pop culture, and sports to to help students acquire language. As students read an article they can click on highlighted words and hear them pronounced. Highlighted words when clicked reveal the Spanish translation. Clicking on highlighted words also adds them to a study list. The study lists can be used for quizzes and games. Voxy is available in English and Spanish.

Repeat After Us is an online library of copyright-free English texts and audio recordings. The purpose of Repeat After Us is to provide ESL students with a place to read and hear proper pronunciations of English words. The texts on Repeat After Us are arranged into eight genre categories including children's stories, prose fiction, and prose non-fiction. Recordings can be listened to online and or downloaded from Repeat After Us. All of the recordings match the texts. Texts range in length from one paragraph to multiple pages.
iMendi is a new site, parts of it are still in development, for learning the basic vocabulary of English, Spanish, Portuguese, and Czech. To use iMendi just select the language you speak and select the language you want to learn. iMendi then gives you the choice of choosing a lesson (level 1, level 2, etc) or trying a randomly chosen lesson. The "lessons" are really just simple vocabulary matching exercises with a score and the correct answers revealed at the end.

CAPL, Culturally Authentic Pictorial Lexicon, is a project developed by Dr. Michael Shaughnessy at Washington & Jefferson College. The purpose of CAPL is to provide images that demonstrate the true meaning and intention of the words in a language. CAPL currently has collections of images for teaching and learning English (North American), German, French, Chinese, and Spanish. CAPL also has images for Japanese, Russian, and Ukranian. All of the images in the collection are licensed under a Creative Commons license that allows for re-use and manipulation for non-commercial purposes.

Open Culture is devoted to the idea of sharing learning opportunities. Open Culture has an extensive list of free resources for learning thirty-seven different languages. All of the resources in the list can be downloaded to your computer or iPod. When available, Open Culture has linked to the iTunes feed for the learning resources.

Lingus TV is a website featuring videos to help viewers learn conversational Spanish. The collection of videos includes lessons for beginning, intermediate, and advanced learners. The short videos feature actors having brief, realistic looking and sounding conversations. Each video is accompanied by the Spanish transcript and the English translation of the transcripts. The concept is great, but unfortunately the content of a couple of videos makes me question whether or not I would use them with students younger than high school age.

Hello World provides games and activities for students to develop their knowledge of foreign languages. Hello World has games and activities in nine languages including Spanish, French, and Mandarin Chinese. Not all of the games and activities are free, but enough of them are free to warrant listing as a good place for free learning activities.

22 Frames is a service that provides a central location for locating captioned videos for learning English and for Internet users who have hearing impairments. 22 Frames provides more than just captioned videos. For each video 22 Frames provides a list of idioms, slang words, and commonly mispronounced words in each video. 22 Frames tells viewers where each use of idioms, slang, and commonly mispronounced words appears in each video. Viewers can click on any of the words in the lists provided by 22 Frames to find a definition for each word and to find pronunciation tips. See 22 Frames in action in this video about a passenger plane crash in Iran.