Global Pollution and Prevention News: US Drinking Water: D+!
How safe is our drinking water? The water system especially in our older cities has been around for a long time being patched and repaired. The American Society of Civil Engineers and its members are committed to protecting the health, safety, and welfare of the public, and as such, are equally committed to improving the nation?s public infrastructure. To achieve that goal, they have recently issued a Report Card on the condition and performance of the nation?s infrastructure. They are experts at how it is done and they give the American system a D+! At the dawn of the 21st century, much of our drinking water infrastructure is nearing the end of its useful life. There are an estimated 240,000 water main breaks per year in the United States. The quality of drinking water in the United States remains universally high, however. Even though pipes and mains are frequently more than 100 years old and in need of replacement, outbreaks of disease attributable to drinking water are rare.
Drinking water or potable water is water safe enough to be consumed by humans or used with low risk of immediate or long term harm. In most developed countries, the water supplied to households, commerce and industry meets drinking water standards, even though only a very small proportion is actually consumed or used in food preparation. Typical uses (for other than potable purposes) include toilet flushing, washing and landscape irrigation.
Drinking water quality in the United States affects approximately 314,569,000 people in some way or another. In some places in the United States, people may be concerned about pollutants.
Nearly 170,000 public drinking water systems are located across the United States. Of these, 54,000 are community water systems that collectively serve more than 264 million people.
Although new pipes are being added to expand service areas, drinking-water systems degrade over time, with the useful life of component parts ranging from 15 to 95 years. Especially in the country?s older cities, much of the drinking water infrastructure is at the far older end of its useful life and in need of replacement.
Failures in drinking water infrastructure can result in water disruptions, impediments to emergency response, and damage to other types of infrastructure.
In 2012, the American Water Works Association (AWWA) concluded that the aggregate replacement value for more than one million miles of pipes was approximately $2.1 trillion if all pipes were to be replaced at once. Since not all pipes need to be replaced immediately, it is estimated that the most urgent investments could be spread over 25 years at a cost of approximately $1 trillion.? This is one large bill!
All is not gloom and doom.? Some places are being proactive.? The Chicago Department of Water Management delivers almost one billion gallons of fresh water to the residents of Chicago and 125 suburban communities every day. The city has replaced about 30 miles of water mains a year in recent years. That pace is not nearly quick enough, given that Chicago put down about 75 miles of mains a year between 1890 and 1920, and that those pipes were not expected to serve for more than a century. In 2012, the city embarked on a 10-year plan to replace 900 miles of century-old drinking water pipes.
What is the long term?? The system needs to be upgraded and there will be large capital costs.? Water bills will have to rise to compensate.
The recent Boston Consulting Group study done in cooperation with Yelp, raises many questions about SMB online ad spend and presence. We want to comment on the key top-level metric they reported: Three percent of their [SMBs] advertising budgets flows online.
Some subsequent commentators have interpreted this finding as narrowly referring to online display ads, although it is hard to tell exactly what definitions were used, and what response options were presented to survey participants (as well as the make-up of the sample).
BIA/Kelsey has been surveying SMBs and their use of media for advertising and marketing purposes since 1999. In our most recent LCM (Local Commerce Monitor) survey* of SMBs spending less than $25,000 annually on advertising and promotion, SMBs reported spending on average about 28% of their total advertising and promotion budget for digital/online media. (This is using the broadest definition of digital/online media, including banner/display ads, search, social media, online video, and mobile media).
Within the total digital/online spend (above) we found that spending for online banner/display ads was 1.7%, and spending for mobile banner/display ads was an additional 0.8%.
*LCM Wave 16 performed in Q3 2012, using a sample of 300 US SMBs, drawn from a cross-section of business and market types. SMBs all belonged to online panels, from which the respondents were drawn. The accuracy of this finding at the top level is +/- 5.7% at the 95% confidence level.
Released 2013-03-21 13:05:02 GMT: 17 hours ago. 2 click(s)FULL ARTICLE
NORFOLK-Dancing may not seem like it's hard on your body, but for professionals or children taking classes, the repetitive practice of movements that require extreme flexibility, strength, and endurance make them prime candidates for overuse injuries.?? CHKD Sports Medicine physician and Director of the Dance Medicine program Dr. Joel Brenner has more information on dance injuries and prevention ...
By: John M Wilson Melbourne has many options when it comes to Apartments. Most of the apartments are fully furnished and serviced, and conveniently located in the city centre, eastern and south east suburbs. Every apartment is very modern and great value for money. With over a 100 apartments to choose from one is spoilt for choice. Apartments are available in studio, one bedroom and two bedrooms. There are even options concerning your bedding requirements. There are no hidden costs and you pay for convenience with all the amenities of the city around you. Melbourne has shown growth in the serviced apartment arena. Reports have found that occupancy rates have gone up on a year to date figure. Statistics have proven that people renting apartments have risen in comparison to staying at a hotel.
Melbourne Apartments accommodation gives you a feeling of being in a home away from home you has more space, freedom and comfort. So if you are travelling for business, pleasure or even re-locating this is the perfect option. Apartments are situated in key areas of the city with all the amenities right on your door step. Apartments are fully equipped even the kitchen. The apartments offer you up market luxury which gives you a stylish lifestyle within the trendy Melbourne suburbs. You have the option of either eating at home or stepping out and exploring the streets which are filled with cafes, restaurants and shopping centres. With so many options one can really get used to living in an Apartment in Melbourne.
Many business men prefer apartments as it gives them the option of being able to totally relax away from the bustling city. Apartments are easy to book and on arrival you are met with a warm reception. Prices include all your amenities any extras such as a vehicle parking which is secure and undercover and is charged at an additional cost. Broadband and internet are available this will be an additional cost. Housekeeping takes care of all your needs even having your cloths dry cleaned and your apartment spic and span on your arrival back from meetings or outings.
Apartments accommodate from between 2-6 people they are an excellent option for the business man or even a family. Families can stay together under one roof. One has the space to move around. Each unit has a separate bedroom, lounge and kitchen. Work stations are also available for the businessman. Take outs can be ordered from local restaurants and cafes in the area should you not wish to cook. Accommodation is flexible and guests can stay for days, weeks and even months. With all of this at your fingertips you will feel like you have never left home.
About the Author: John M Wilson primarily writes articles that offer recommendation about planning and booking for Melbourne apartments accommodation. If you would like to use any of John Wilsons existing work please visit the grandhotelmelbourne.com.au.
Article Originally Published On: http://www.articlesnatch.com
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Travel Becomes Less Stressful With Airport LimoBy: aayana | Mar 15th 2013 - If you want more peace and less stress while traveling, arranging for an airport limo can be a wise move. Packing and dressing appropriately will make a difference, too.
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So You Want To Drive A Limo BusBy: aayana | Mar 15th 2013 - If you've always wanted to become a professional driver, operating a limo bus might be the perfect job for you. You'll need a CDL license and a can-do attitude before climbing behind the wheel.
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Questions To Ask A Richmond Taxi ServiceBy: Tyrion Lannister | Mar 15th 2013 - Hailing a taxi, is not something that most people in Richmond do. The taxis don't arrive looking for riders, like they do in large cities, such as New York, San Francisco and Las Vegas. Therefore, odds are, if you ...
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A Hotel Or Other Options Can Be The Next Home For Your VacationBy: aayana | Mar 15th 2013 - Planning a vacation is fun, but figuring out where to stay can be a little tricky. You can choose from a hotel or other great options, but each one is a little different. Learn about the differences and maybe you'l ...
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The Importance Of Ibiza Concierge ServiceBy: Sharon Evans | Mar 15th 2013 - You cannot overlook the need for Ibiza concierge service and Ibiza private chef if you want to bask in the lap of luxury. Learn more about how their services can come in handy.
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The mass of the Higgs boson particle, possibly uncovered at the Large Hadron Collider in Geneva, may mean doom for our universe. Here, proton-proton collisions at the LHC showing events consistent with the Higgs.
By Miriam Kramer LiveScience
An announcement Thursday confirming that a newfound particle discovered at the world's largest atom smasher last year is a Higgs boson ? the theorized particle thought to explain how other particles get their mass ? has left physicists hopeful about the future of their research.
Although these newest findings confirming a Higgs?? presented at the annual Rencontres de Moriond conference in Italy ? have not led to the frenzied storm of excitement created by the particle's initial discovery on July 4, 2012, the work has still energized researchers.
Particle confirmed as a Higgs boson at a conference in Italy
"There is better evidence now, but in some sense, it's also incredibly expected," Peter Woit, a physicist at Columbia University, told LiveScience.
"It is very exciting to be here, and this year just has been quite exhilarating as a particle physicist!" Meenakshi Narain, a professor of physics at Brown University, wrote to LiveScience from the conference.
Last year, physicists working with the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) in Switzerland declared that they had found a new elementary particle matching the findings that would be expected from the predicted Higgs boson, which was theorized by physicist Peter Higgs and his colleagues in 1964.
The two experiments, named ATLAS and CMS, responsible for collecting data on the "God particle," still needed further confirmation before physicists could state definitively that they had found the particle, however. (Though the Higgs is sometimes referred to in pop culture as the "God particle," physicists prefer its official name.) [In Photos: Searching for the Higgs Boson]
"When we discovered the particle, we knew we found something significant," ATLAS scientist and New York University professor Kyle Cranmer said in a statement. "Now, we're just trying to establish the properties."
The results presented today are just one more step toward establishing those properties more firmly, Woit added.
"The interesting thing today was that one of the experiments (the CMS) hadn't updated its data since the middle of last year," Woit said. "Everyone had been waiting to see what the new data was."
Whereas the findings released in July 2012 were robust enough to confirm that a "Higgs-like" particle had been found, the newest science from the CMS refines some of the data, providing the strongest evidence yet that this is the particle predicted by the Standard Model, the reigning theory governing particle physics.
"In coming years, it (the LHC) will study many more of them, and that's what people will be focused on, hoping to see something unexpected," Woit said. "No matter how hard one works at this though, one will only ever have partial information, never get to 100 percent sure that this particle is behaving exactly according to the theory."
Narain agreed, "This of course increases our confidence that this is indeed a Higgs boson. At this point I don?t think there are many people in the particle physics community who seriously doubt that this is a Higgs boson. I am not sure it is meaningful to quantify this with a number such as 99 percent or 100 percent certain."
Some scientists think today's announcement should not distract from the wealth of other scientific questions that need to be answered.
"Clear evidence that the new particle is the Standard Model Higgs boson still would not complete our understanding of the universe," Patty McBride, head of the CMS Center at Fermilab, said in a statement. "We still wouldn't understand why gravity is so weak, and we would have the mysteries of dark matter to confront. But it is satisfying to come a step closer to validating a 48-year-old theory."
Follow us @livescience,?Facebook?or?Google+. Original article on LiveScience.com.
Copyright 2013 LiveScience, a TechMediaNetwork company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Yearning for a contract-free option for cellular service? Ting's certainly a compelling one, but to date, the limited device options have kept it from becoming a standout alternative. That, however, is about to change. The MVNO -- which leans on Sprint's network here in the US -- has just announced plans to sell contract-free Galaxy S IV "for around the full unlocked price" as soon as it can. Specifically, you'll see it hit the Ting device page as a pre-order in around six to eight weeks.
If that's a little large for your blood, HTC's drop-dead gorgeous One will also be making its way over, with pre-orders to start in around 30 days. Inching ever smaller, the Galaxy S III Mini will join the carrier's lineup about the time the GS IV does, though there's no mention of pricing there. As for other nuggets? Ting's expecting to offer up its first LTE device "within six weeks," and yes, it's still working on a way to support Apple's iPhone as well as the entire range of Windows Phone 8 products.
Bill Littleboy and Rupert Jarvis with the new machinery at Longwater Gravel at Horstead. Photo: Bill Smith
By shaun lowthorpe Business editor
Wednesday, March 13, 2013 4:22 PM
Norfolk-run family firm Longwater Gravel has completed a ?300,000 investment to buy two new JCBs and upgrade its washing plant facilities at one of its aggregrate extraction sites.
The third generation family firm, which celebrated its diamond jubilee last year, took the decision to invest in the new equipment after securing extra land at its existing extraction site at Horstead, near Coltishall.
The two JCB loading shovels were supplied by Wymondham-based Watling JCB, while the firm also worked with three other Norfolk businesses ? ADR Electrical, at Honningham, DJ Ireland, from Mulbarton, and Panks Pumps in Norwich for the electrics, groundworks, and pumps and pipework.
Bill Littleboy, director, said the business made the investment after securing an extension to the site on neighbouring land which adds 10 years to the life of the site, which is now in its eighth year.
?We decided it was a good time to upgrade the machinery and spend a bit of money,? he said. ?We?ve bitten the bullet and spent ?300,000 on the two JCBs. The JCBs have come in at the right price and it?s always nice to buy British.?
Based at the Longwater business park in Costessey, near Norwich, the business, which employs 15 staff across three sites in Norfolk has a turnover of about ?2.5m.
It has also developed a side business recycling concrete topsoil and brick rubble, while a sister company, builders? merchant business, Longwater Construction, run by Neil Carter, has also been going from strength to strength.
Meawhile, three years ago it appointed a non-family member, Simon Smith, as a director of the business.
Will Littleboy, managing director, said the decision was a reflection of the growing nature of the business and the need to give it a broader management base.
?We were very lucky as he has national experience, and we realised that we needed somebody at that level,? he said.
He said the new investment would help improve efficiency at the site, which extracts about 1,000 tonnes of gravel a week.
Despite tough times in the construction industry he said the business positioned itself at the smaller end of the market, and hired out part of its sites to ready mix businesses, which as well as providing a market for its materials was an attractive proposition to those firms as they could be immediately on site.
?We don?t chase the big contracts because those tend to go to the multi-nationals,? he said. ?We are at the smaller end of the market, working with the smaller builders.
?They have found ways to keep themselves going. Generally the smaller builders are quite busy.?
Polo takes the baitPublic release date: 13-Mar-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Gina Kirchweger gxk@stowers.org 816-806-1036 Stowers Institute for Medical Research
A better 'mousetrap' discovered in fruit flies might stop a human cancer-driving kinase in its tracks
KANSAS CITY, MOA seemingly obscure gene in the female fruit fly that is only active in cells that will become eggs has led researchers at the Stowers Institute for Medical Research to the discovery of a atypical protein that lures, traps, and inactivates the powerful Polo kinase, widely considered the master regulator of cell division. Its human homolog, Polo-like kinase-1 (Plk1), is misregulated in many types of cancer.
Stowers Investigator and senior author R. Scott Hawley, Ph.D., hopes that this highly selective kinase trap might give drug developers, who are working to inhibit Polo's crucial role in driving the multiplication of cancer cells, a new method to inactivate Polo without blocking other vital kinases in normal cells. "Our discovery will give people who do drug discovery a new way of thinking about inhibitors for Polo kinase," says Hawley. "At least that's my hope."
In a paper published in this week's online edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science (PNAS), the Stowers researchers reveal in detail how Matrimony (Mtrm) stops the Polo kinase in its tracks in egg cells in the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster. Hawley calls the most likely method by which Mtrm might bind and repress Polo the "mousetrap model." The Matrimony protein, which is expressed only in developing oocytes or egg cells, offers the Polo kinase "cheese" at its N-terminal end in the form of three phosphorylated amino acids that resemble Polo's favored canonical binding sites: phospho-serine or phospho-threonine residues.
Hawley explains, "The way we think of it, the N-terminal region of Matrimony serves as bait. To Polo, it looks like a canonical binding site with three such residues, saying 'Come look at me. I've got a phosphate and I'm a serine. Or I'm a threonine and I've got a phosphate,' because that's what Polo wants." As soon as Polo takes the bait, the C-terminal end of Matrimony wraps around Polo and represses its function. If the N-terminal phosphates are the cheese in the mousetrap, the C-terminus would be the lever. "It springs, and Polo is trapped and repressed," he says.
"Polo is at the top of the regulatory hierarchy in almost all dividing cells," Hawley continues. "It phosphorylates targets that either phosphorylate or dephosphorylate other targets in every regulatory pathway in cell division. The fact that egg cells need to shut down Polo function to divide is a fascinating exception to this rule."
Hawley discovered the Matrimony gene in 2003. Over time, the Hawley lab learned that Mtrm was a critical player in the cell divisions that occur as an egg is being made. Using fly genetics, the researchers knocked out one and then both copies of the Mtrm gene in female flies. With one functioning Mtrm gene, the oocytes could make it through the two rounds of meiosis absolutely required for haploid reproduction, albeit with a high risk of chromosome defects. With both copies of Mtrm disabled, the oocyte suffered catastrophic destruction of chromosomes and other structures required for cell division. Yet, Mtrm also turned out to be a rare example in Drosophila of a protein that can stably bind (and turn off) Polo kinase.
Mtrm seemed to be facilitating meiotic cell division by shutting down Polo. But how did the Mtrm protein manage to slow Polo and stop its action? Answering that question took seven years. According to Hawley, it required important collaborations with the Stowers Institute's core facility in proteomics to characterize the Mtrm::Polo interaction and with the Stowers imaging facility to use an advanced imaging technology to follow the interaction of the two proteins in living oocytes. The project was initially started by S. Kendall Smith, an M.D.-Ph.D. student from the University of Kansas Medical School. After Smith graduated, Amanda Bonner, a research technician, assumed full responsibility for guiding the project and bringing it to its completion.
The project's success helped Bonner transition from her position as a technician in Hawley's lab to a graduate student in the first class of the new Stowers graduate school. The experimental results speak for themselves, she says. "The important thing was finding a small protein that can inhibit Polo. It provides some real therapeutic possibilities because Polo is misregulated in so many types of cancer. To find something small and specific to Polo that doesn't interact with anything else is pretty exciting."
For a basic researcher like Hawley, making a discovery that might have direct therapeutic impact is doubly exciting. "We are a Drosophila genetics lab, but there are lots of people out there in drug discovery working on Polo. I'm hoping that someone like that will read this and my other papers and think, 'I wonder if I can use this as a means of turning down Polo kinase'." Making a basic discovery about cancer is thrilling in another way for Hawley. "I have been funded by the American Cancer Society for almost 26 years, and I've been an American Cancer Society Research Professor for the last nine years. During that time, I think my contributions to chromosome biology have added to basic research that helps us understand how tumor cells divide. Now, I've actually done something that has a practical application."
###
Researchers who also contributed to the work include Stacie E. Hughes, Jennifer A. Chisholm, Brian D. Slaughter, Jay R. Unruh, Kimberly A. Collins, Jennifer M. Friederichs, Laurence Florens, Selene K. Swanson, Marissa C. Pelot, Danny E. Miller, Michael P. Washburn, Sue L. Jaspersen, all at the Stowers Institute for Medical Research.
The work was funded by the Stowers Institute for Medical Research and the American Cancer Society.
About the Stowers Institute for Medical Research
The Stowers Institute for Medical Research is a non-profit, basic biomedical research organization dedicated to improving human health by studying the fundamental processes of life. Jim Stowers, founder of American Century Investments, and his wife, Virginia, opened the Institute in 2000. Since then, the Institute has spent over 900 million dollars in pursuit of its mission.
Currently, the Institute is home to nearly 550 researchers and support personnel; over 20 independent research programs; and more than a dozen technology-development and core facilities.
[ | E-mail | Share ]
?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Polo takes the baitPublic release date: 13-Mar-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Gina Kirchweger gxk@stowers.org 816-806-1036 Stowers Institute for Medical Research
A better 'mousetrap' discovered in fruit flies might stop a human cancer-driving kinase in its tracks
KANSAS CITY, MOA seemingly obscure gene in the female fruit fly that is only active in cells that will become eggs has led researchers at the Stowers Institute for Medical Research to the discovery of a atypical protein that lures, traps, and inactivates the powerful Polo kinase, widely considered the master regulator of cell division. Its human homolog, Polo-like kinase-1 (Plk1), is misregulated in many types of cancer.
Stowers Investigator and senior author R. Scott Hawley, Ph.D., hopes that this highly selective kinase trap might give drug developers, who are working to inhibit Polo's crucial role in driving the multiplication of cancer cells, a new method to inactivate Polo without blocking other vital kinases in normal cells. "Our discovery will give people who do drug discovery a new way of thinking about inhibitors for Polo kinase," says Hawley. "At least that's my hope."
In a paper published in this week's online edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science (PNAS), the Stowers researchers reveal in detail how Matrimony (Mtrm) stops the Polo kinase in its tracks in egg cells in the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster. Hawley calls the most likely method by which Mtrm might bind and repress Polo the "mousetrap model." The Matrimony protein, which is expressed only in developing oocytes or egg cells, offers the Polo kinase "cheese" at its N-terminal end in the form of three phosphorylated amino acids that resemble Polo's favored canonical binding sites: phospho-serine or phospho-threonine residues.
Hawley explains, "The way we think of it, the N-terminal region of Matrimony serves as bait. To Polo, it looks like a canonical binding site with three such residues, saying 'Come look at me. I've got a phosphate and I'm a serine. Or I'm a threonine and I've got a phosphate,' because that's what Polo wants." As soon as Polo takes the bait, the C-terminal end of Matrimony wraps around Polo and represses its function. If the N-terminal phosphates are the cheese in the mousetrap, the C-terminus would be the lever. "It springs, and Polo is trapped and repressed," he says.
"Polo is at the top of the regulatory hierarchy in almost all dividing cells," Hawley continues. "It phosphorylates targets that either phosphorylate or dephosphorylate other targets in every regulatory pathway in cell division. The fact that egg cells need to shut down Polo function to divide is a fascinating exception to this rule."
Hawley discovered the Matrimony gene in 2003. Over time, the Hawley lab learned that Mtrm was a critical player in the cell divisions that occur as an egg is being made. Using fly genetics, the researchers knocked out one and then both copies of the Mtrm gene in female flies. With one functioning Mtrm gene, the oocytes could make it through the two rounds of meiosis absolutely required for haploid reproduction, albeit with a high risk of chromosome defects. With both copies of Mtrm disabled, the oocyte suffered catastrophic destruction of chromosomes and other structures required for cell division. Yet, Mtrm also turned out to be a rare example in Drosophila of a protein that can stably bind (and turn off) Polo kinase.
Mtrm seemed to be facilitating meiotic cell division by shutting down Polo. But how did the Mtrm protein manage to slow Polo and stop its action? Answering that question took seven years. According to Hawley, it required important collaborations with the Stowers Institute's core facility in proteomics to characterize the Mtrm::Polo interaction and with the Stowers imaging facility to use an advanced imaging technology to follow the interaction of the two proteins in living oocytes. The project was initially started by S. Kendall Smith, an M.D.-Ph.D. student from the University of Kansas Medical School. After Smith graduated, Amanda Bonner, a research technician, assumed full responsibility for guiding the project and bringing it to its completion.
The project's success helped Bonner transition from her position as a technician in Hawley's lab to a graduate student in the first class of the new Stowers graduate school. The experimental results speak for themselves, she says. "The important thing was finding a small protein that can inhibit Polo. It provides some real therapeutic possibilities because Polo is misregulated in so many types of cancer. To find something small and specific to Polo that doesn't interact with anything else is pretty exciting."
For a basic researcher like Hawley, making a discovery that might have direct therapeutic impact is doubly exciting. "We are a Drosophila genetics lab, but there are lots of people out there in drug discovery working on Polo. I'm hoping that someone like that will read this and my other papers and think, 'I wonder if I can use this as a means of turning down Polo kinase'." Making a basic discovery about cancer is thrilling in another way for Hawley. "I have been funded by the American Cancer Society for almost 26 years, and I've been an American Cancer Society Research Professor for the last nine years. During that time, I think my contributions to chromosome biology have added to basic research that helps us understand how tumor cells divide. Now, I've actually done something that has a practical application."
###
Researchers who also contributed to the work include Stacie E. Hughes, Jennifer A. Chisholm, Brian D. Slaughter, Jay R. Unruh, Kimberly A. Collins, Jennifer M. Friederichs, Laurence Florens, Selene K. Swanson, Marissa C. Pelot, Danny E. Miller, Michael P. Washburn, Sue L. Jaspersen, all at the Stowers Institute for Medical Research.
The work was funded by the Stowers Institute for Medical Research and the American Cancer Society.
About the Stowers Institute for Medical Research
The Stowers Institute for Medical Research is a non-profit, basic biomedical research organization dedicated to improving human health by studying the fundamental processes of life. Jim Stowers, founder of American Century Investments, and his wife, Virginia, opened the Institute in 2000. Since then, the Institute has spent over 900 million dollars in pursuit of its mission.
Currently, the Institute is home to nearly 550 researchers and support personnel; over 20 independent research programs; and more than a dozen technology-development and core facilities.
[ | E-mail | Share ]
?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
In this Thursday, Feb. 7, 2013 photo,Yolanda Hormilla, a RN working for Florida Blue, checks Jose Ballivian's blood pressure in the Sunrise, Fla. sales office. Some Americans could see their insurance costs double this year as the U.S. health care overhaul expands coverage to millions of people. (AP Photo/J Pat Carter)
In this Thursday, Feb. 7, 2013 photo,Yolanda Hormilla, a RN working for Florida Blue, checks Jose Ballivian's blood pressure in the Sunrise, Fla. sales office. Some Americans could see their insurance costs double this year as the U.S. health care overhaul expands coverage to millions of people. (AP Photo/J Pat Carter)
In this Thursday, Feb. 7, 2013 photo, Doug Bartel, Director of Business Development, conducts a seminar for small business owners pertaining to the coming changes in insurance, in the Sunrise, Fla. sales office. Some Americans could see their insurance costs double this year as the U.S. health care overhaul expands coverage to millions of people. (AP Photo/J Pat Carter)
FILE - In this March 18, 2010 file photo, then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., looks over her notes during a news conference on healthcare on Capitol Hiil in Washington. Some Americans could see their insurance costs double this year as the U.S. health care overhaul expands coverage to millions of people. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais, file)
Some Americans could see their insurance bills double next year as the health care overhaul law expands coverage to millions of people.
The nation's big health insurers say they expect premiums ? or the cost for insurance coverage ? to rise from 20 to 100 percent for millions of people due to changes that will occur when key provisions of the Affordable Care Act roll out in January 2014.
Mark Bertolini, CEO of Aetna Inc., one of the nation's largest insurers, calls the price hikes "premium rate shock."
"We've done all the math, we've shared it with all the regulators, we've shared it with all the people in Washington that need to see it, and I think it's a big concern," Bertolini said during the company's annual meeting with investors in December.
To be sure, there will be no across-the-board rate hikes for everyone, and there's no reliable national data on how many people could see increases. But the biggest price hikes are expected to hit a group that represents a relatively small slice of the insured population. That includes some of the roughly 14 million people who buy their own insurance as opposed to being covered under employer-sponsored plans, and to a lesser extent, some employees of smaller companies.
The price increases are a downside of President Barack Obama's health care law, which is expected to expand coverage to nearly 30 million uninsured people. The massive law calls for a number of changes that could cause premiums for people who don't have coverage through a big employer to rise next year ? at a time when health care costs already are expected to grow by 5 percent or more:
? Changes to how insurers set premiums according to age and gender could cause some premiums to rise as much as 50 percent, according to America's Health Insurance Plans, or AHIP, an industry trade group that's funded by insurers.
? A new tax on premiums could raise prices as much as 2.3 percent in 2014 and more in subsequent years, according to a study commissioned by AHIP. Policyholders with plans that end in 2014 probably have already seen an impact from this.
? Requirements that insurance plans in many cases cover more health care or pay a greater share of a patient's bill than they do now also could add to premiums, depending on the extent of a person's current coverage, according AHIP.
The Obama administration says the law balances added costs in several ways, including tax credits that will bring down what many consumers will pay for insurance.
"The health care law will bring down costs and save money for young people and families," said Erin Shields Britt, a spokeswoman for the Department of Health and Human Services. "It's misleading to look at one provision of the law alone. Taken together, the law will reduce costs."
WHERE 'RATE SHOCK' MAY STRIKE
The impact of some cost hikes will be wide ranging. The new premium tax, for instance, will affect individual insurance, some employer-sponsored coverage and Medicare Advantage policies, which are privately-run versions of the government's Medicare program for the elderly and disabled.
Other price hikes will vary due to factors like a person's current coverage and age. Young people who currently have low-cost coverage may see some of the biggest hikes.
In many states, insurers charge a 60-year-old customer $5 in premiums for every $1 they collect from a 24-year-old. The logic behind that is that older people use health care more and generate more expensive claims than younger customers, so insurers need to collect more to help pay their bills.
But the overhaul will narrow that ratio to 3-to-1. That alone could cause the premium for a 24-year-old who pays $1,200 annually to jump to $1,800, according to AHIP. Meanwhile, the 60-year-old who currently pays $6,000 will see a 10 percent drop in price.
Gender also can be a factor in whether premiums go up or down. The law will prohibit insurers from setting different rates based on gender ? something they currently do because women generally use more health care. That means premiums for some men could rise, while they fall for women.
Prices also may change depending on a person's current coverage. Many policies on the individual market (coverage not sold through employers) exclude maternity coverage, but that will be considered an essential health benefit under the overhaul. That could mean higher prices for some.
Vikki Swanson, 49, of Newport Beach, Calif., resents that the added benefit may lead to higher costs for her. "I had a hysterectomy, I have no need for maternity coverage, but I have to now pay for it," she said.
As a self-employed accountant and financial analyst, Swanson has paid for her insurance coverage on the individual market for about 13 years. She watched her monthly premium climb from around $136 in 2001 to more than $600 before she could find cheaper coverage. She's frustrated that the overhaul may add to her bill.
"I have to pay not only my own premium but I have to subsidize everybody else," she said.
CUSHIONING THE BLOW
While insurers forecast instant premiums hikes starting next January, the overhaul also is expected to tame health care costs for many.
Starting next year, the law will require insurers to cover everyone who applies. That means health care costs could fall dramatically for people who have been unable to find coverage due to a chronic condition like diabetes or high blood pressure.
There also will be tax credits, or subsidies, given to people with incomes that fall within 400 percent of the federal poverty level. For 2013, 400 percent of the poverty level for all states except Alaska and Hawaii would be $94,200. These credits won't lower premiums, but they can ease the insurance bill depending on a person's income.
The credits should help the 20-something customers that insurers warn will see big premium hikes, said Linda Blumberg, an economist with the Health Policy Center of the Urban Institute, a nonpartisan policy research organization. She noted that people in that age range are more likely to be either working for an employer that doesn't offer coverage or earning low wages that would entitle them to a sizeable credit.
"While these folks are potentially facing some premium increases due to all these reforms, they also are the ones most likely to get the financial help from the exchanges," she said.
There are other changes that will benefit young and poor people. Some may qualify for coverage under the state-federal Medicaid program for the poor and disabled, which will expand in many states next year.
Additionally, people under age 30 who face big premium hikes will be able to buy plans that charge low premiums and just provide coverage for big or catastrophic costs. Those plans also will be available to people required to pay more than 8 percent of their income for coverage.
Plus, people who are age 26 and under are eligible to receive coverage under a parent's plan, thanks to another overhaul provision that already started.
In addition to those changes, insurers will have to compete for business on the exchanges, which could restrain price hikes, said Larry Levitt, a private health insurance expert with the Kaiser Family Foundation, which analyzes health policy issues. He noted, for instance, that some are already creating narrow networks of low-cost providers to help keep costs in check.
"Plans are very focused on trying to get these premiums down," he said.
But Robert Laszewski, an industry consultant and former insurance executive, said that theory assumes there is no competition in the marketplace now. He noted that a small company may get quotes from as many as 10 insurers competing for business when it tries to find coverage through a broker.
"I haven't had one person in the industry remark to me, 'Gosh, I wonder what the other guy's charging,'" he said. "They're worried that all this stuff is so expensive, they're not going to get the pricing right."
Potential early indicator of kidney injury identifiedPublic release date: 12-Mar-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Toni Baker tbaker@gru.edu 706-721-4421 Medical College of Georgia at Georgia Regents University
A guidance cue that helps kidneys form may also be a red flag that they are in danger, researchers report
AUGUSTA, Ga. A guidance cue that helps kidneys form may also be a red flag that they are in danger, researchers report.
Acute kidney injury, a common and serious complication of hospitalization, is on the increase worldwide, affecting an estimated 6 percent of all hospitalized patients and 30-40 percent of adults and children having cardiopulmonary bypass surgery.
About 10-15 percent of acute injuries translate to chronic kidney damage or failure that may require dialysis or a kidney transplant, said Dr. Ganesan Ramesh, kidney pathologist in the Vascular Biology Center at the Medical College of Georgia at Georgia Regents University.
Now, animal and human studies have shown that within a few hours of injury, a significant amount of the protein semaphorin 3A is detectable in the urine, Ramesh and his colleagues report in the journal PLOS ONE.
"Semaphorin 3A appears to be a sensitive biomarker that we believe will give physicians an early and accurate heads-up that their patient's kidneys have been injured so that damage can be minimized and potentially reversed with rapid intervention," said Ramesh, the study's corresponding author.
The protein, which is not usually measurable in urine, was quickly detected in a group of 60 pediatric patients following cardiopulmonary bypass surgery at Cincinnati's Children's Hospital. High levels of the protein were about 90 percent accurate at identifying the 26 children with acute kidney injury. In those patients, urine levels were high within two hours, peaked at six hours and essentially normalized 12 hours after surgery.
Probably because of the kidney's significant reserve capacity, it's more like 48 hours before the current biomarker creatinine, a byproduct of muscle metabolism typically excreted by the kidneys, is elevated in the blood. By then, it's often too late for strategies such as massive fluid volumes, antibiotics and other interventions to yield significant improvement, he said
In the study group, creatinine levels were essentially the same in all 60 children for 24 hours. By 48 hours, levels were significantly elevated in the acute kidney injury group and stayed up for five days.
The researchers initially identified semaphorin 3A in an animal model of temporarily compromised oxygen levels, or ischemia, to the kidneys. When they eliminated the protein's expression in a mouse, it reduced ischemia-related kidney damage.
The hard-working, high-energy kidneys are particularly vulnerable to any decreases in the usual oxygen levels that may result from life-saving strategies such as cardiopulmonary bypass and mechanical ventilation, Ramesh said. Over the course of the day, the kidneys filter the body's total blood volume several times, resorbing needed components like nutrients and eliminating toxins, excess sodium and more. When they stop filtering properly, the body starts dumping both good and bad products into the urine.
Children with congenital heart defects who need multiple surgeries to repair their hearts may be at particular risk for acute kidney injury. In the study, children who developed the injury spent the longest time on bypass and in the hospital.
Many unknowns persist about semaphorin 3A including the role of the guidance cue in the healthy developed kidney and why it's levels shoot up then drop down so dramatically with injury. He notes that there is fairly significant cell turnover in the kidneys so it may have a role in regeneration. Ramesh has already worked with Japanese physicians to look at the levels in 350 older patients in intensive care for a variety of maladies. He's also working on an antibody that will screen specifically for semaphorin 3A.
###
The study was funded by the National Institutes of Health.
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AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Potential early indicator of kidney injury identifiedPublic release date: 12-Mar-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Toni Baker tbaker@gru.edu 706-721-4421 Medical College of Georgia at Georgia Regents University
A guidance cue that helps kidneys form may also be a red flag that they are in danger, researchers report
AUGUSTA, Ga. A guidance cue that helps kidneys form may also be a red flag that they are in danger, researchers report.
Acute kidney injury, a common and serious complication of hospitalization, is on the increase worldwide, affecting an estimated 6 percent of all hospitalized patients and 30-40 percent of adults and children having cardiopulmonary bypass surgery.
About 10-15 percent of acute injuries translate to chronic kidney damage or failure that may require dialysis or a kidney transplant, said Dr. Ganesan Ramesh, kidney pathologist in the Vascular Biology Center at the Medical College of Georgia at Georgia Regents University.
Now, animal and human studies have shown that within a few hours of injury, a significant amount of the protein semaphorin 3A is detectable in the urine, Ramesh and his colleagues report in the journal PLOS ONE.
"Semaphorin 3A appears to be a sensitive biomarker that we believe will give physicians an early and accurate heads-up that their patient's kidneys have been injured so that damage can be minimized and potentially reversed with rapid intervention," said Ramesh, the study's corresponding author.
The protein, which is not usually measurable in urine, was quickly detected in a group of 60 pediatric patients following cardiopulmonary bypass surgery at Cincinnati's Children's Hospital. High levels of the protein were about 90 percent accurate at identifying the 26 children with acute kidney injury. In those patients, urine levels were high within two hours, peaked at six hours and essentially normalized 12 hours after surgery.
Probably because of the kidney's significant reserve capacity, it's more like 48 hours before the current biomarker creatinine, a byproduct of muscle metabolism typically excreted by the kidneys, is elevated in the blood. By then, it's often too late for strategies such as massive fluid volumes, antibiotics and other interventions to yield significant improvement, he said
In the study group, creatinine levels were essentially the same in all 60 children for 24 hours. By 48 hours, levels were significantly elevated in the acute kidney injury group and stayed up for five days.
The researchers initially identified semaphorin 3A in an animal model of temporarily compromised oxygen levels, or ischemia, to the kidneys. When they eliminated the protein's expression in a mouse, it reduced ischemia-related kidney damage.
The hard-working, high-energy kidneys are particularly vulnerable to any decreases in the usual oxygen levels that may result from life-saving strategies such as cardiopulmonary bypass and mechanical ventilation, Ramesh said. Over the course of the day, the kidneys filter the body's total blood volume several times, resorbing needed components like nutrients and eliminating toxins, excess sodium and more. When they stop filtering properly, the body starts dumping both good and bad products into the urine.
Children with congenital heart defects who need multiple surgeries to repair their hearts may be at particular risk for acute kidney injury. In the study, children who developed the injury spent the longest time on bypass and in the hospital.
Many unknowns persist about semaphorin 3A including the role of the guidance cue in the healthy developed kidney and why it's levels shoot up then drop down so dramatically with injury. He notes that there is fairly significant cell turnover in the kidneys so it may have a role in regeneration. Ramesh has already worked with Japanese physicians to look at the levels in 350 older patients in intensive care for a variety of maladies. He's also working on an antibody that will screen specifically for semaphorin 3A.
###
The study was funded by the National Institutes of Health.
[ | E-mail | Share ]
?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
It?s common knowledge for most gamers that Mario has been in countless games over the years, in which he has taken on a bevy of different roles and occupations. From race-car driver to boxing referee, Mario has done it all. Curiously enough, just about the only job Mario hasn?t performed in a video game is that of a plumber, but that?s completely beside the point. Wrecking Crew, the latest 3DS Virtual Console release, has Mario donning his hardhat for a bit of construction, or, more accurately, destruction.
Originally released as a launch title for the Nintendo Entertainment System, Wrecking Crew is an early entry is what is now known as the puzzle platform genre. Each stage takes place in a vertically scrolling arena filled with breakable walls and ladders. Your goal is to destroy all of the breakable objects with your giant hammer while avoiding enemy characters and frantic fireballs. What sets this one apart as a puzzle game rather than a straight platformer is your inability to jump. Because of this, you?ll have to pay close attention to the stage and figure out the safest path for Mario to travel, without blocking yourself off from reaching a particular platform by accidentally destroying a ladder that you may need to climb.
While the concept may be simple, this is definitely not a puzzle game for the faint of heart. Early levels tend to be fun and light-hearted, but it quickly takes a nasty turn with a difficulty curve that isn?t to be scoffed at. Luckily, you can choose which stage you would like to start at from the menu screen, so losing all of your lives on a particularly difficult level does not necessarily mean starting the whole game over. There are 100 different stages to complete, with bonus stages staggered between, so being able to choose your starting level is almost necessary for anyone hoping to experience them all.
With simple gameplay comes a simple control scheme. The 3DS D-Pad or Circle Pad is used to move Mario around, while pressing either A or B will cause him to swing a crushing blow with his hammer. As mentioned before, you don?t even have the ability to jump, so the controls remain simple, and they?re responsive. There is also a two-player mode in which a second player takes on the role of Luigi, but the gameplay involves trading the 3DS off to player 2 once the first player?s turn is over rather than sharing a screen, much like Super Mario Bros. Also like the aforementioned 3DS VC game featuring the pair of plumbers is the necessity to hold L and R while pressing Y to switch to the second player?s controls. This requirement to swap controllers is a strange inclusion, but necessary for anyone craving multiplayer action.
One of the more fascinating things about this game is that it features an additional play mode titled ?Design,? which is essentially an archaic level editor. While level editors are becoming more common in modern games, with an emphasis on community sharing, there aren?t too many games from the NES era that allowed you to customize your own stages. Design mode allows you to create a short campaign of four customized stages that you can then save and play whenever you?d like. Creating stages is easy as it only involves moving around the stage area in a grid pattern and pressing either A or B to cycle through and place objects, but it gets the job done. While this definitely isn?t the main selling point, it is a good way to spend some extra time on the title once you?ve exhausted the campaign.
As with many early NES games, Wrecking Crew doesn't have the most impressive artwork to look at, but the pixel sprites and environments get the job done. The soundtrack is satisfyingly 8-bit, and many players will be surprised at how familiar the music may be, with certain elements making appearances in the Super Smash Bros. series. Like the graphics, the soundtrack is not the most remarkable in gaming history, but iconic nonetheless.
Wrecking Crew is a solid puzzle platforming game that manages to be just as entertaining on the 3DS today as it was on the NES nearly 30 years ago. While the multiplayer and design modes may be simplistic and slightly flawed, they still add a bit of variety and replayability to an otherwise straightforward game. With its iconic music and lasting appeal in terms of gameplay, fans of the genre won?t want to miss out on this piece of gaming history.
Author: Tega Diegbe | Total views: 61 Comments: 0 Word Count: 689 Date:
Setting up and running a home business has both advantages and disadvantages, this article is going to focus on the positives of deciding to start and run your own home business. So without further ado, here are the benefits of running a home based business.
You get to be your own boss.
Choosing to get into business for yourself, can be very liberating, it gives you freedom from a strict work schedule, it gives you the free time to do the things that you WANT to do, and if you stay with it, it can allow you to know the pleasure of being financially independent.
Business online is pretty easy to grasp.
The concept of working from home is pretty easy to grasp, but it requires a lot of patience and hard work, there are many people selling get rich quick schemes on the net, just be aware that it does take work and dedication to make it a success. Your own business is different from a "9-5" job. The best way to think about this is to think or the work you do as an investment in your future, you are not working for money, but rather investing your time.
You can work at a pace that suits you.
Running your own business, allows you take your time and carry out tasks in the proper manner. All your efforts will add up to be more substantial, remember point 2, all the time you devote when you start out is an investment. The best example of this is if you imagine, standing atop a ski slope, and you roll a snowball down the slope, as it progresses down the slope it picks up momentum and gets bigger and bigger. You need to push the snowball initially to get the process going. You just keep pushing the snowball until it gets big enough for it to roll down the slope on its own. Before long you will find that you don't have to do much for the snowball to keep increasing in size. A home business endeavour is similar to this example.
You can spend time with your family.
Building a home based business allows you to spend time with your family and friends, spend more time working on your hobbies, in general just doing the things that you love. More free time is a great benefit of having your own home business. Home based business is very affordable.
Opportunities are limitless.
Opportunities are limitless when you open yourself to them, a home based business is good because it is cheap and some options are free. An example is affiliate program can usually be started for free. Another option could be starting a blog and place ads related to the subject matter of your site. The cheap starting cost is what makes opportunities limitless.
An unlimited customer base.
A Home based business allows you to operate a virtually global business, especially when you offer service online through the internet. Using the internet lets you reach anyone that may be looking for the service that you offer in your business. You can have customers the all over the world, the world is your oyster.
One of the biggest Advantages - No previous experiences necessary.
You do not need and prior knowledge or experience to start a home based business, you can learn as you go along. This is advantageous because you will have no prior experience and as such no bad habits that may weigh you down or slow down or just knock you off course permanently.
So there you have it, 7 reasons why it is beneficial to run your own home business. One thing to bear in mind is that there will be times when your resolve will be tested; just remember to keep your mind on WHY you chose to start your own home business. Keep this reason in your mind when things get a little tough.
Tega Diegbe is a business owner and Internet entrepreneur based out of Newcastle England.n To discover more about internet marketing and to receive a free instructional manual that shows valuable steps no how to setting up your own internet business simply visit: http://www.prosperitystrategy.com/
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Genetic insulin secretion defect linked to rapid onset of type 2 diabetes after birth
Newswise ? Chevy Chase, MD ??Women who were diagnosed with gestational diabetes during pregnancy face a significantly higher risk of developing Type 2 diabetes in the future, according to a recent study accepted for publication in The Endocrine Society?s Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism (JCEM).
The prospective cohort study tracked 843 women who were diagnosed with gestational diabetes between 1996 and 2003 at Cheil General Hospital in Seoul, South Korea. About 12.5 percent of the women developed Type 2 diabetes within two months of delivering their babies. During the next decade, the number of women diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes continued to grow at a rate of 6.8 percent a year.
?The findings indicate as many as half of Asian women who had gestational diabetes will develop Type 2 diabetes within eight years of giving birth,? said the study?s lead author, Soo Heon Kwak, MD, of Seoul National University Hospital.
The study is among the largest of its kind to study Asian women who had gestational diabetes. Researchers followed 370 participants for more than a year after the birth of their children. Of the remaining women studied, 105 were diagnosed with type 2 diabetes within two months of giving birth and the remainder did not participate in long-term follow-up visits.
Researchers identified two distinct groups of women who were at risk ? those who developed Type 2 diabetes within two months of giving birth and those who took a year or more to progress to a Type 2 diabetes diagnosis. Although obesity was a major risk factor for both groups, researchers found genetic variations that could explain the timing of the disease?s onset.
Women who rapidly developed Type 2 diabetes had a significant defect in insulin secretion. Among this population, researchers found a variation in the HHEX (hematopoietically expressed homeobox) gene that is associated with Type 2 diabetes.
Women who were slower to develop Type 2 diabetes were more likely to have a variation in the CDKAL1 gene, which also has been linked to Type 2 diabetes.
More research into genetic and environmental risk factors is needed to develop models that can better predict who will develop Type 2 diabetes, Kwak said. In the meantime, women who had gestational diabetes should undergo regular blood sugar testing.
?It is crucial for women who had gestational diabetes to have their blood sugar levels checked two months after giving birth and annually thereafter,? Kwak said. ?In addition to the problems undiagnosed Type 2 diabetes poses to the mother, leaving the disease untreated increases the risk of any future children developing congenital disorders.?
Other researchers working on the study include: H. Jung, Y. Cho, S. Kim and K. Park of Seoul National University Hospital; S. Choi, S. Lim and H. Jang of Seoul National University Bundang Hospital; and N. Cho of Ajou University School of Medicine.
The article, ?Clinical and Genetic Risk Factors for Type 2 Diabetes at Early or Late Post-partum after Gestational Diabetes Mellitus,? appears in the April 2013 issue of JCEM.
# # #
Founded in 1916, The Endocrine Society is the world?s oldest, largest and most active organization devoted to research on hormones and the clinical practice of endocrinology. Today, The Endocrine Society?s membership consists of over 16,000 scientists, physicians, educators, nurses and students in more than 100 countries. Society members represent all basic, applied and clinical interests in endocrinology. The Endocrine Society is based in Chevy Chase, Maryland. To learn more about the Society and the field of endocrinology, visit our site at www.endo-society.org. Follow us on Twitter at https://twitter.com/#!/EndoMedia.
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Bill Littleboy and Rupert Jarvis with the new machinery at Longwater Gravel at Horstead. Photo: Bill Smith
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Public release date: 13-Mar-2013
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