Coronavirus Journal: restrictions are easing across the region and state Bay Area health officials have eased some restrictions in the latest shelter-in-place order that's at curbing the coronavirus outbreak.…

There is no good reason to create unnecessary barriers for dental telehealth services As many Californians know from getting braces or filling cavities, dental care can be a huge investment. Cost concerns are at top of mind when considering visiting the dentist; one study found that it was the main barrier to dental care even for adults with private insurance.…

Impossible Foods, whose huge production facility is ion 85th Street in Oakland, has just announced a huge retail expansion, with its mega-popular plant-based Impossible Burger being rolled out this week at over 1,700 grocery stores nationwide.

All of those stores are owned by The Kroger Co., which operates in 28 states under many different brands including Pay Less, Ralphs, Albertsons, Vons, Fred Meyer, and many more.…

News you don't want to miss for May 6:

1. Former Oakland Chief of Police Anne Kirkpatrick filed a lawsuit alleging the Oakland Police Commission, which fired her earlier this year, did so as retaliation for Kirkpatrick blowing the whistle on their own wrongdoing, including seeking personal favors, the San Francisco Chronicle reports.…

Gold Label Mayan Cocoa Elixir, made by Emeryville-based REBBL, has just won the 2020 NEXTY Award for "Best New Ready-to-Drink Beverage."

Its ingredients include maca, reishi, maitake, turkey tail mushrooms, lion's mane mushrooms, cayenne, and ashwagandha, among others.…

News you don't want to miss for May 7:

Just a few months ago, California was sitting on an overflowing reserve fund. After covid-19, the state is now reconciling with a massive $54.3 billion deficit over the next fiscal year, Calmatters reports.…

An employee at a Dunkin' (formerly Dunkin' Donuts) restaurant in Concord has inspired the company's brand-new DIY Dunkin' Donut Kits.

Norma Valkenaar asked the restaurant's franchisee, Matt Cobo, whether she could bring home some donuts, frosting, and sprinkles so that her young nephews could experiment with customizing their own treats.…

A system and method for identifying areas of a processing plant in which a glove is damaged. The system includes utilizing color-coded sets of gloves in different areas or processing steps within the plant. All the gloves used in a particular plant are provided with a unique identifier. If a piece of a glove is located in the product within the plant, the color of that piece indicates the area or process of the plant in which the glove was used. If a piece of a damaged glove is located in the product at a remote destination, the unique identifier in that piece is matched with a registry to determine the plant in which the glove was used. The color of the piece then helps the plant to identify where the damaged glove was used. The system and method are particularly helpful in the food processing industry, especially meat processing.

An integral helmet, in particular a so-called full-face helmet, that is preferably designed with a shell construction, comprising a helmet upper-shell unit with an integrated neck unit and a chin protection unit with a jaw clamp, wherein the chin protection unit is detachably connectable to the helmet upper-shell unit so as to form the integral helmet, wherein the chin protection unit is designed for connection to the neck unit as an open chin bar unit with end areas that are separated from one another at a distance so that, in the assembled state, the end areas form a completely closed unit together with the neck unit. Also, a method for connecting and/or disconnecting, without the use of tools, a chin protection unit having a jaw clamp to, or from, a helmet upper-shell unit having an integrated neck unit, so as to form an integral helmet, in particular an integral helmet.

A combined collar stabilizer and button closure tool adds a utility that facilitates securing a button to an accessory that fits into the collar pocket of a shirt, and provides an aesthetically pleasing, straight, crisp, well-groomed appearance of the shirt collar. The combined collar stabilizer and button closure tool increases the efficiency and eases the process required to secure the button closure of a shirt for buttons with a range of diameters needed for buttons of various sizes. The combined tool is made of a substantial material without limiting pliability, is a single form, consists of two distinct ends, and is shaped to substantially fit within the collar stay pocket. One end of the tool is angular in shape and accommodates the angle of the collar pocket tip. The other end, proximate to the end of the collar pocket, is designed to facilitate the closure of a button closure system.

The disclosed herein is a personal rain protection device that serves as an umbrella combined and connected with a vest. The umbrella and vest combination can function in all types of rainstorms. The vest aspect is located at the torso of a wearer and extends from the users shoulders. The vest element also includes relatively light weights at the tail end of the vest to protect against succumbing to powerful wind gusts. The present invention, including the umbrella, is not handheld, but rather it is worn along with the vest to which the umbrella is attached to.

Articles of apparel include: (a) a garment structure having one or more fabric elements structured and arranged to provide a close fit to at least one predetermined portion of a body (e.g., area(s) of the body for which enhanced position sensing and/or feedback are desired, such as the lower back, the arch of the foot, etc.); and (b) a body position feedback system engaged with or integrally formed as part of the garment structure. The body position feedback system may apply higher tensile or constricting forces to selected portions of the wearer's body, which can help stimulate or interact with nerves and deep tissue receptors located in various portions of the body. The increased forces at selected locations of the body give the wearer sensory feedback regarding the position or orientation of these parts of the body and can improve or accelerate development of “muscle memory.”

A sleeve gusset for securing an exterior shell layer of an apparel item and an inner liner layer of an apparel item to a sleeve of an apparel item and a method of manufacturing a sleeve gusset is provided. The sleeve gusset comprises an interior facing with a sleeve edge and a body edge and an exterior facing with a sleeve edge and a body edge. The sleeve edge of the exterior facing is coupled to the exterior shell layer of the apparel item while the sleeve edge of the interior facing is coupled to the sleeve. The body edge of the exterior facing is coupled to the body edge of the interior facing. The body edge of the interior facing is further coupled to the inner liner layer.

Embodiments are disclosed for headwear including a crown including a cap, a strap extending from the crown, the strap including two strap portions extending from different locations of the crown, and a clasp coupled to the strap at terminal ends of the two strap portions, the clasp having a top loop and a bottom loop, wherein the top loop is joined to the bottom loop via a hinge, a top surface of the bottom loop extending from the hinge having a substantially linear declination along at least a portion of the top surface.

For a hairdressing cape, a round opening is formed at the center of an upper region of at least a front cloth and a back cloth, and a collar portion with an overlapping portion is formed which is sewn to a peripheral edge of the round opening by folding an edge portion. A clasp is mounted to an inner end portion at one side of the overlapping portion of the collar portion, and a ladder tape is mounted from near an end portion at the other side of the collar portion to an upper region of the back cloth. By making the clasp be caught and fastened in an arbitrary position of the ladder tape, the overlapping portion of the collar portion is fastened.

A fabric having moisture management properties is disclosed. The fabric can also be made to be fire resistant. The fabric is particularly well suited for being used as an inner lining in protective garments. The fabric contains first yarns and second yarns. The first yarns extend in a first direction and the second yarns extend in the second direction. The yarns are woven together such that the first yarns form a pattern of shapes. The pattern of shapes concentrate the FR cellulose fibers and provide channels for carrying away moisture and improving the moisture management properties of the fabric.

Various fabrics, compression garments and compression garment systems are described. Fabrics formed from wicking and absorbent materials provide effective compression and an improved environment next to a wearer's skin, which provides greater comfort and improved overall performance. Two and multi-layer compression garments are described. An outer layer may be formed with an opening having a closure and an elastic material joining the sides of the opening. This provides a first level of compression with the closure open and a second level of compression with the closure closed and also helps a user in applying the garment.

The invention relates to a protective clothing unit, in particular a protective clothing unit having fragment protection, preferably having a protective function against fragments created and/or released by detonation and/or explosion, comprising outerwear and/or underwear and possibly comprising separate head and/or face protection, neck protection, shoulder protection, arm protection, hand protection, trunk protection, torso protection, genital and/or anal protection, and/or leg protection, wherein the protective clothing unit has fragment protection elements, preferably textile fragment protection elements, which are specific and different from each other and which are associated with different body regions when worn and/or cover different body regions when worn, preferably having a protective function against fragments created and/or released by detonation and/or explosion.

An emergency anti-hypothermia system has a thermally insulating vest that is sufficiently portable to be carried for emergency use in a pocket, purse, backpack, compartment of a vehicle, ski pole or other location, with the vest providing thermal insulation by being made with thermally insulating air impervious material that also provides for its inflation. A multiplicity of interconnected inflated chambers situated about the vest, provides thermal insulation by anti-conduction, anti-radiation and anti-convection in a highly portable system. An outer surface having radar reflective properties further improves visibility of the vest.

Pants are provided with a pair of zippers to facilitate the donning of the pants when a pants wearer is wearing large footwear that the pants wearer does not want to remove prior to donning the pants. Each zipper extends between a front thigh portion of each pant leg, along a side portion of the pant leg and terminates at a free end of the pant leg. Unzipping the zipper creates a large opening at the front thigh portion of each pant leg so that the pants wearer can easily put large footwear through the opening and don the pants. The zippers can be zipped up so that the pants wearer can engage in any desired activity.

Disclosed is a modified set of gloves, system, and method of glove removal and retention that is particularly well suited for, but not limited to, tactical situations (i.e. fast-roping) and action sports environments. In one embodiment, the glove(s) feature at least one catch between at least two fingers of the glove(s). Preferably, the catch defines a mechanism for rapidly removing and retaining the glove(s). Further disclosed is a system for removing the glove(s) featuring a garment with an attached anchor, such as a carabineer or a hook. In a preferred embodiment, the anchor is positioned in the sternum area of the vest and glove wearer. Operably, a user moves the gloved hand(s) down and over the anchor to place the catch on the anchor so that the continued movement of the user's hands rapidly removes and stores the glove(s) via the anchor.

A wearable protection item having a redeemable member is disclosed. The wearable protection item may include a protective glove and a redeemable member. The protective glove may include a finger region, a thumb region, a palm region, a wrist region, and a separable region. The wrist region and the separable region may define an opening into the protective glove. The opening may include an edge. The separable region may be adjacent to the wrist region and the thumb region. The redeemable member may include an exterior surface and an interior surface, where at least one of the exterior surface or the interior surface has indicia thereon, and where the redeemable member is adhered to the separable region.

A device to aid in the stabilization and preparation of food while protecting the user's fingers.

“I am not a number. I am a free man!” I’m afraid not, you’re a number… when it comes to credit scoring anyway. The famous cry for help of the eponymous Prisoner from the cult 1960s TV show of the 1960, could have been written for today’s world of mass computer assessed finance.

This is a warning to every UK worker aged 22 or over. You’re about to get a pay rise, but it may cost you, and you may not even be told.

'Tax-Free Childcare' is a confusing and inaccurately named scheme that launched in April 2017. It can be worth thousands of pounds, but only 250,000 of the 1.5 million eligible families are collecting it.

A YOUNG driver caught with more than 15 times the legal amount of party drug ecstasy in his system has been banned from the roads.

Are you ripping yourself off? At least 11m people in the UK are overpaying on their energy bills, usually by £100s a year. Sorting it is one of the biggest and easiest savings you can make – yet the majority still don’t do it. More so, even if you’re scared of switching firm, right now you may be able to save £100s and stick with your existing provider. So as we’re in the core of winter, carpe diem (translation: get off your bum and try to give it a go).

Mis-sold Wonga customers have been legally robbed.

Sole structures (e.g., midsoles and/or outsoles) and articles of footwear include heel-supporting areas and/or forefoot-supporting areas that include a central area (e.g., a central recessed area) and a plurality of surrounding rings. Additionally or alternatively, the sole structures (e.g., midsoles and/or outsoles) may include bands of material defined by recessed grooves to provide a bumpstop type impact-force attenuating structure.

Sole structures include (a) a first midsole component formed at least in part from a first polymeric foam material, wherein the first midsole component forms at least a majority of a plantar support surface and at least a majority of a medial sidewall surface of the sole structure, and wherein the first midsole component includes a lateral side edge; and (b) a second midsole component formed at least in part from a second polymeric foam material, wherein the second midsole component forms at least a majority of a lateral sidewall surface of the sole structure, wherein the second midsole component includes a medial side edge that extends adjacent the lateral side edge of the first midsole component. The second polymeric foam material may have a higher durometer than the first polymeric foam material.

An article may include a first polymeric material layer having a surface. A first conductive trace may form at least a portion of the first layer surface. The article may further include a second polymeric material layer. The second layer may have a first surface, a portion of the second layer first surface being bonded to a portion of the first layer surface. The second layer may have a portion of a channel defined therein, the channel at least partially coinciding with a portion of the first conductive trace. The article may also include a first patch interposed between the first layer surface and the second layer first surface. The first patch may span the channel and cover a portion of the first conductive trace.

A polymeric housing may have a channel defined therein. A first conductive trace may at least partially coincide with the channel. A first wire may have a first conductor surrounded by a first insulating jacket. The first conductor may be in electrical communication with the first conductive trace. A jacket bonding region of the first jacket may be welded to a housing bonding region of the housing. The jacket bonding region and the housing bonding region may be formed from a common type of polymer.

A stretchable animal foot covering comprising an elongated body with a foot-receiving chamber on opposite ends of the elongated body that is formed from stretchable material that is at least partially closed at the ends to form the foot-receiving chambers.

An upper structure for a shoe that improves foot fit and hold of an upper at the time of turn motion. In an upper 2 that covers a foot of a shoe wearer, an expandable part 20 is provided at a midfoot region M that corresponds to a midfoot portion of the foot, and a non-expandable part 21 is provided at a lateral side region and a medial side region except for the midfoot region M. A boundary surface between the expandable part 20 and the non-expandable part 21 is formed by a substantially flat surface. At the boundary surface, respective end portions 20E, 21E of the expandable part 20 and the non-expandable part 21 are sewn together such that a seam does not appear on the boundary surface.

A removable heel connector apparatus comprises a shoe, a heel connector, a heel, a heel release. The heel connector includes a bolt to connect the heel against withdrawal from the shoe. The heel may be withdrawn from the shoe by depressing the heel release. The heel connector also includes a torque balance providing strength and durability in use to a shoe with removable heel as if an ordinary shoe without removable heel.

A method for providing parts of waterproof and breathable shoes, parts of waterproof and breathable shoes provided with the method, and waterproof and breathable soles provided with the shoe parts. The method uses a mold including a first element and a second element, at least one of which has hollow regions of a matrix of impressions, which are filled with polymeric material in the fluid state by depositing it in the hollow regions or by injecting it while the mold is closed; a support made of flexible sheet is interposed between the first element and the second element and includes a waterproof and breathable functional element, on which, when the mold is closed, the polymeric material sets and adheres to the support.

An article of apparel includes a base layer and an auxetic layer coupled to the base layer. The auxetic layer includes an auxetic structure defining a repeating pattern of shapes, with each of the shapes defined by perimeter walls and an interior recess. The auxetic layer includes a first region and a second region. Each interior recess in the first region provides a void exposing the base layer, and each interior recess in the second region is at least partially filled with a recess material.

An article of footwear has a tubular structure. The tubular structure may include tab portions that extend away from a tunnel portion of the tubular structure. The tab portions may engage parts of the article of footwear. The tab portions may engage an upper or sole structure along a bite line. The tab portions may be attached to a heel counter, eyestay, or other structure on the article of footwear.

An article of footwear has a tubular structure that may conform to various anatomical features of a foot. The tubular structure has a tunnel, and a tensile strand runs through the tunnel. Applying tension along the tensile strand may cause the tubular structure to conform more closely to one or more anatomical features. The geometry, or path, of the tubular structure on the article may be customized.

A traction cleat applicable for use in field sports is provided with dynamic traction elements having larger radial thickness, cross-sectional area and mass than dynamic elements in golf shoe cleats. The strength of a locking arrangement for the cleat in a shoe-mounted receptacle is enhanced by providing an annular array of spaced locking stubs on the receptacle to engage a similar array of spaced locking posts on the cleat.

A footwear ornamentation assembly includes at least one insert and a plurality of design members that can be mounted on the insert or a flip-flop for decoration purposes. The at least one insert is releasably affixed on top of a flip-flop sole. The plurality of design members present different appearances. A method for decorating a flip-flop using the flip-flop ornamentation assembly includes selecting the at least one insert from a plurality of inserts, affixing the selected insert to a top of the flip-flop sole, selecting one or more design members from the plurality of design members, and mounting the selected one or more design members to the at least one of the selected insert and the flip-flop.

Shoes and/or shoe elements facilitate natural foot motion and/or reduce forces tending to fight natural foot motion. In at least some such structures, a wearer's heel is secured to the hindfoot region of a shoe (e.g., by a strap system) in a manner that permits heel/forefoot rotation and that allows the lower leg to remain straight. In other structures, a shoe can include a heel supporting component that is separate from a midsole component, and this heel supporting component can move toward the lateral side and/or medial side of the shoe along an interface between the heel supporting component and the midsole component. Other suitable shoe and shoe component structures also are described.

A sole structure for an article of footwear includes an upper layer comprised of a plate member and a lower layer comprised of a plurality of segmented portions separated by flexing regions. The flexing regions may comprise portions of a compressible material. The sole structure accommodates vertical bending and torsion, while limiting lateral bending.

A footwear effects toning of the leg muscles. It includes two soles and a redress mechanism contained within each of the soles for redressing the positions of the soles, in order to adjust corresponding feet positions by toning the leg muscles. A shock absorbing pebble for use within the soles, includes an elastic membrane that deforms under pressure, and that defines two chambers that are connected by means of a gas permeable membrane. In a balanced position, the first chamber is filled with a mixture of gas along with fluid, and the second chamber is filled with gas. As an external force is applied to the membrane, gas molecules are forced into the second chamber, inflating it until equilibrium is achieved, thus dampening the external force.

An article of footwear has an upper and a sole structure secured to the upper. The sole structure includes a chamber that encloses a pressurized fluid. The chamber includes subchambers laterally extending in a medial to lateral direction of the bladder. A bottom surface of the chamber may include at least one bond that laterally extends across the bottom surface of the chamber from one side edge to another side edge of the chamber in the medial to lateral direction. The bond may cooperate with an indentation in the bottom surface that separates one subchamber from an adjacent subchamber. A diameter of the subchambers may decrease in a direction from a heel region of the bladder to a forefoot region of the chamber.

A shoe, and method of manufacture, comprised of (i) a shoe upper having an arrangement of holes in the bottom surface, (ii) an outer sole having an arrangement of holes corresponding to the arrangement of holes in the bottom surface of the shoe upper, and (iii) an inner sole disposed within the shoe upper, the inner sole having a plurality of pegs that extend from its bottom surface that are arranged in alignment with the arrangement of holes in the shoe upper and outer sole when the inner sole is disposed within the shoe upper, each peg extending downwardly through its associated hole in the shoe upper and the outer sole, so that, in the preferred embodiment, the bottom surface of each peg is exposed to, and forms part of, bottom surface of the shoe.

An insole liner for a shoe is disclosed. The liner consists of a wedge shaped member having opposite back and front ends, a top surface and a bottom surface. The liner has a polyurethane base layer, a middle layer made of silicone gel and a top layer made from memory foam. The wedge shaped member has a thickness which tapers from the back end towards the front end. The base layer has a shore hardness which progressively decreases from the back end of the wedge shaped member to the front end of the wedge shaped member and wherein the middle layer has a shore hardness which progressively increases from the back end of the wedge shaped member to the front end of the wedge shaped member. Finally, the bottom surface has a plurality of projections.

A cushioning member includes a first lattice structure and a second lattice structure. The first lattice structure includes a first network of struts and nodes with voids defined between the struts and nodes. The second lattice structure includes a second network of struts and nodes with voids defined between the struts and nodes. The first network of struts and nodes is interwoven with the second network of struts and nodes such that the first network of struts and nodes extends through the voids in the second network of struts and nodes.

A sole structure for an article of footwear includes one or more outsole portions. At least some of these outsole portions include a plurality of alternating upward-facing and downward-facing elongate channels. The channels may have a base and two sidewalls, with adjacent channels sharing a common sidewall. The bases of the downward-facing channels form an upper surface of the outsole portion and the bases of the upward-facing channels form a lower surface of the outsole portion. The sidewalls are arranged at non-perpendicular angles to the upper surface. A first outsole portion has a pressure-versus-strain curve having a local maximum at a “trip point” pressure value and a first strain value and wherein the pressure-versus-strain curve has a change in strain of at least approximately 10% before a second occurrence of the “trip point” pressure value is reached. An article of footwear having the sole structure attached to an upper is also provided.