You say your address is Number 523? Hmm. I still can''t seem to find it. More »
Monthly Archives: March 2011
NC State Rep.’s bill would allow Silver or Gold as legal tender
From Eric Dondero:
Meet newly-elected Republican Rep. Glen Bradley of North Carolina. A few weeks in office, and already he's attracting national media. Bradley just introduced a bill that would allow North Carolina to "issue its own legal tender backed by silver and gold."
From the Raleigh News & Observer "Legislator says the state needs its own currency" March 19:
Bradley, a self-employed computer technician and former Marine, attended Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in Wake Forest until he could no longer afford tuition, he said. While he has not taken any in-depth classes in economics, Bradley described himself as a devotee of the Austrian School, a branch of economic thought that originated in Vienna and was influential before World War I.
Back then the value of most of the world's currencies were tied to the amount of the gold amassed in their national treasuries. The United States abandoned the gold standard in 1933, after it was blamed for worsening the Great Depression.
Though the ideas of the Austrian School have been rejected by mainstream economists for much of the last century, they are in vogue with Libertarians and some supporters of the tea party movement
Rep. Bradley is a staunch gun rights advocate. He was endorsed in his campaign by the Republican Liberty Caucus. He is also a friend of the Libertarian Party of North Carolina, and recently introduced legislation on their behalf to lower ballot access requirements for third parties in the State. (Source: FreetheVoteNC.com)
What Would Have Happened?
Here's one to ponder on.
A few years back we had a fault on a 33/11KV 20MVA transformer. Buchholz surge, it was due to low oil level. It was the middle of a freezing night so it was decided to leave it until daylight and just close the bus-section to get the plant up and running. Walking out of the
Ex-Governor’s Jet Airplane up for Sale in New Mexico
Democrat Bill Richardson's private airliner grounded, being sold by brokers
Republican Governor Susana Martinez quoted at Reuters "For Sale: New Mexico governor's executive jet":
"At a time when New Mexicans are struggling to make ends meet, their governor should not be leading a life of privilege," Martinez said in January. "We will get rid of that ultimate symbol of waste and excess; we will sell the state's luxury jet."
Former Governor Bill Richardson bought the Cessna Citation Bravo in 2005 for $5.5 million and [state General Services Secretary] Burckle said he is listing it at $3.3 million.
From columnist Thomas J. Cole, Albuquerque Journal "No More High-Flying Governor for New Mexico":
Martinez, who during the campaign pledged to sell the state jet and criticized aircraft use by the previous administration, hasn't set foot on a government plane since taking office Jan. 1.
She has been traveling around the state in a government-provided Ford Expedition with a desk in the back seat.
Photo h/t Jet Times
Nokia CEO Stephen Elop Confirms the Obvious [Blockquote]
Heading back…
Home for next nine months...Inner Farne 
Loading at Seahouses
Nearly there - a full boat and Inner Farne
Everything must go - the long haul startsSaturday 19th March comments:
Where back and it’ good to be here. Following the ‘usual’ week of mainland based training we eventually sailed to the islands on a glorious Friday morning. The team, a mix of returnees and new faces; packed, stacked and filled the boat and we departed Seahouses just after 10am, and sailed across Inner Sound, island bound.
Where back and it’ good to be here. Following the ‘usual’ week of mainland based training we eventually sailed to the islands on a glorious Friday morning. The team, a mix of returnees and new faces; packed, stacked and filled the boat and we departed Seahouses just after 10am, and sailed across Inner Sound, island bound.
It wasn’t long before we arrived on Inner Farne and we spent the day moving equipment and personal belongings up to the Pele Tower before settling back into island life. We couldn’t have asked for a better start, with glorious sunshine and very little wind resulting in a great way to spend the first day back on the islands. With more settled weather predicted, we could get very use to this.
On a bird front, there were plenty of Guillemots and Razorbills present with a handful of Puffins noted. Shags appear to be well ahead of the game, with some reasonably large nests already constructed (it’s going to be another early start to the season), whilst Kittiwakes are present in good numbers.
Away from the breeding birds, the islands have produced a few noticeable highlights including a lingering Red-necked Grebe, both Peregrine and Sparrowhawk have been seen hunting the area whist seven Whopper Swans moved north today (Saturday 19th March).
Some MacBook Pro Thunderbolt Ports Are Messing with Cinema Displays [Video]
Some 24-inch and 27-inch Apple Cinema Displays owners are experiencing distracting flicker when connected to a MacBook Pro via the new Thunderbolt port. More »
DC or AC Adaptors for Laptops?
At first glance this may sound like a dumb question. However I have not found an answer by searching CR4 archives.
The situation is this. Application is off grid with power provided in a battery power pac. The Power pac has a small inverter of 300 watts and a DC cigarrete socket. The question is wh
DIY 1968 Electronic UFO Detector [DIY]
When you're done not finding any UFOs with your DIY UFO detector, you can also use its electronic magnetic field-detecting properties to not find ghosts, which also don't exist. [Strange Attractor via Boing Boing] More »
Report: It’s Good to Be an eBook [Blip]
Vibration Analysis
Can any one suggest best practice for vibration analysis for slow speed machines i.e. less than 50 RPM.
Also i would be thankful if i find some websites giving proper knowledge for vibration analysis for slow speed machines..
Japan (Might) Be Using Robotic Help at Fukushima | 80beats
What’s the News: Japan has finally called in the robots to the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, dispatching this red AKA Monirobo that is equipped with radiation detectors, temperature and humidity sensors, and a 3-D camera. What’s the Olds: This particular robot is one of a suite of earthquake rescue bots that Japan has at its disposal.
80beats has covered Japanese robotic wonders such as the first robot marathon runners and catwalk-strutting robots as well. (If you’re wondering why such a tech-savvy, robot-friendly country didn’t deploy robots earlier, Reuters has a couple of guesses: old, robot-unfriendly reactor design, and a surprisingly anachronistic tendency to leave humans in charge of some easily automated tasks, “such as operating elevators and warning motorists of road construction.”)
Japanese engineers have also created robots that express emotion.
And one nuclear facility is mere parsley on the fish compared to Japan’s big goal of launching a robot to the moon. Not So Fast: It isn’t clear how much work (if any) the AKA Monirobo is accomplishing thus far.
Image: Asahi Shimbun
Now This Is How You Retrieve Two Massive Solid Rocket Boosters from the Ocean! [Video]
I still can't believe this is the first up-close, 480p video of NASA retrieving the space shuttle's two solid rocket boosters (SRBs) from the Atlantic Ocean, and yet it is! The SRBs, in a word, are massive. And they float! More »
Rehab Technician
Congratulations to all the soon to be graduates! For all of you who are interested in a career in Physical Therapy or Occupational Therapy I have a great opportunity for you at St. Joseph's Hospital.
I am a Rehab Technician and have recently been accepted into my first choice graduate program for Doctor of Physical Therapy. We are now looking for a full time replacement to work in the Neurological Institute.
I highly recommend this position to anyone with aspirations to be a therapist. It not only introduced me to a wealth of first hand experiences with direct patient care and undoubtedly got me into my first choice graduate school, but I can honestly say I cannot imagine a better group of people to work with. When I become a therapist I will certainly be returning to work with this exceptional group of people and extraordinary manager, Kary Spradling.
If you are interested in applying for the position you can contact Kary Spradling, the Inpatient Rehab Therapy Manager, at (520) 873-5070 and leave a message. You can also e-mail her at
kspradling@carondelet.org and put Rehab Technician in the subject bar. I recommend starting the process before graduation.
Changes to Laboratory Staining Techniques Offer Opportunity to Reduce Contamination Events
Tissue contamination in the anatomic pathology lab has long been accepted as a part of the working environment. While laboratories strive to reduce contamination as much as possible, it has been viewed more as an inconvenience than as a serious issue.
But that view is changing. As this white paper demonstrates, the risk of misinterpretation may be greater than most pathologists currently realize, especially in certain tissue types. Also, this paper illuminates a source of significant contamination that has largely been overlooked—staining baths.
Patient safety demands that laboratories take every precaution against misinterpretation. But even in instances where the risk of misinterpretation is unlikely, loss of productivity as a result of contamination is a serious issue.
As the author of this white paper notes, determining if an artifact on a slide is a contaminant or patient tissue can require minutes, or even hours, of extra time in analysis. With a critical shortage of pathologists, productivity is an issue that laboratories cannot ignore. With the average age of pathologists over 50, this shortage will grow more critical as baby boomers retire.
The Dark Report is happy to offer our readers a chance to download our recently published FREE White Paper “Risk of Misdiagnosis Due to Tissue Contamination May be Higher for Certain Specimen Types: Changes to Laboratory Staining Techniques Offer Opportunity to Reduce Contamination Events” at absolutely no charge. This free download will provide readers with a detailed overview of current legal challenges that your lab may encounter in the near future.
Here is just some of what you will take away…
- The three main specimen types that are considered high-risk for misdiagnosis.
- The most important factors enabling a pathologist to recognize contamination.
- Some ways to avoid contamination during the staining process.
- For more about changes to laboratory staining techniques, please CLICK HERE
Table of Contents
Disclosure — Page 2
Preface — Page 4
Chapter 1. Background — Page 5
Chapter 2. Sources of Contamination of Patient Slides — Page 6
Chapter 3. Specimen Types With Additional Risk — Page 8
Chapter 4. Elevated Risks for Specialty Labs — Page 15
Chapter 5. Cost of Contamination — Page 16
Chapter 6. Protecting Against Contamination — Page 18
Chapter 7. Conclusion— Page 20
References — Page 21
Appendices
A-1 About John B. Carpenter, M.D. — Page 23
A-2 About Ventana Medical Systems, Inc.— Page 24
A-3 About DARK DAILY— Page 25
A-4 About The Dark Intelligence Group, Inc., and The Dark Report— Page 26
A-5 About Executive War College on Laboratory and Pathology Management— Page 27
A-6 About Karen Branz— Page 29
Terms of Use — Page 32
Aurora Interactive and Galderma to Develop the World Leading Digital Dermatology Research Tool
MONTREAL, CANADA--Aurora Interactive, a world leader in digital pathology communications, announced Thursday the company has signed a partnership contract with Galderma, a global leading pharmaceutical company specializing in the research, development and marketing of innovative medical solutions in dermatology.
The partnership contract is aimed at developing its mScope communication platform and viewer for dermatology research & development at Galderma's R&D center at Sophia Antipolis, France. Galderma forms licensing partnerships around innovative product candidates and technologies.
"The partnership between Aurora and Galderma will allow the adaptation of the best digital technology suite to achieve both companies ambitious goals," said Pierre Le Fèvre, president and chief executive officer for Aurora Interactive. "We are extremely proud to be associated with furthering dermatology research. The decision to facilitate collaboration between researchers is consistent with our company's collaborative Web 2.0 philosophy and mScope product" he added.
The 19,300-sq. meter state-of-the-art R&D center at Sophia Antipolis is Galderma's largest facility and positions the company as the world's leading investor in dermatology R&D. To drive sustained growth, Galderma invests approximately 20 percent of its revenues to discover and develop new drugs and access innovative technologies
About Aurora Interactive Ltd.
Aurora Interactive has developedthe leadingweb-based software platform (mScope) for simplification, productivity, and ease of communications.mScope's Universal Web Viewer has collaborative tools to view medical slides and images anytime, anywhere, regardless of file format.The software has three applications to aid digital pathology web-based communications: mScope Education, mScope Clinical, and mScope Universal Viewer. Aurora's mission is to improve patient outcomes and help members of the medical community achieve their full potential by eliminating the learning, diagnostic, and collaborative restrictions imposed by time and space. http://www.aurorainteractive.com
About Galderma
Founded in 1981, Galderma is a joint venture between Nestlé and L'Oréal and today employs more than 3,000 people. The company, headed by President & CEO Humberto C. Antunes, has wholly-owned affiliates in 31 countries and a worldwide network of exclusive sales agents. In 2009, sales reached 978 million Euros, an increase of 10.8%* over 2008. Committed to the future of dermatology, Galderma's ambition is to be recognized as the most competent and successful innovation-based company focused exclusively on meeting the needs of dermatology patients and physicians. http://www.galderma.com
Flagship Biosciences combines fluorescence scanning with brightfield
The novel staining approach combines the multiplexing capabilities of fluorescence with the tissue context of brightfield whole slide scanning
FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. — March 17, 2011 — Flagship Biosciences announced today a novel whole slide imaging approach called Bridge Staining™, that allows a brightfield background to be aligned and overlaid on a fluorescent image on the same tissue section, allowing visualization of tissue morphologic features on the fluorescent image. The patent-pending technique is versatile, and can be used either with three to four color fluorochrome stained sections or autofluorescence or polarized scanning.
“While generally we prefer to work with brightfield pathology, but fluorescence presents useful applications in multiplexing of proteins in single tissue sections,” said Dr. Frank Voelker of Flagship Biosciences. “We utilize whole slide fluorescence scanning and analysis when two to four antibodies are required to be evaluated in a single section. However, fluorescence makes the determination of the local tissue context difficult for pathologists. This new approach allows immunofluorescence to be conducted as usual, but with the additional step of adding chromogen staining without interfering with fluorescence emissions. Protein expression can be quantified in tissue with fluorescence, with the advantage of using the chromagen staining to assist in pattern recognition of the regions of interest.”
The multimodal scanning is another in a long list of whole slide scanning and image analysis services offered by Flagship Biosciences, utilizing both whole slide brightfield and fluorescence scanning. The Bridge Staining™ approach is being refined in conjunction with a number of tissue-based companion diagnostics programs with Flagship’s pharmaceutical partners. Flagship Biosciences is a pathologist-owned digital pathology services organization.
President Bill Clinton to Keynote 2011 ASCP Annual Meeting
CHICAGO – March 14, 2011 – President Bill Clinton, the Founder of the William J. Clinton Foundation and the 42nd President of the United States and a champion for global health, will be the keynote speaker at the 2011 American Society for Clinical Pathology (ASCP) Annual Meeting on Wednesday, Oct. 19, in Las Vegas.
His address, “Embracing Our Common Humanity,” will set the stage for a truly international conference, which is serving as host to the World Association of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine (WASPaLM) XXVI World Congress. “A Global View of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine” is the theme of ASCP’s signature event, Oct. 19-22 at the Venetian-Palazzo Resort Hotel Casinos.
“President Clinton is the world’s leading advocate for global health initiatives, and ASCP has a corps of dedicated volunteers working to improve laboratory services in resource-limited countries,” said ASCP President John E. Tomaszewski, MD, FASCP.
After his two terms as U.S. President from 1993 to 2001, President Clinton established the William J. Clinton Foundation to strengthen the capacity of people around the world to meet the challenges of global interdependence. The Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI), formerly the Clinton HIV/AIDS Initiative, works to strengthen integrated health systems in the developing world and expand access to care and treatment for HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis.
ASCP’s Institute for Global Outreach works to improve global health by identifying and implementing innovative methods and partnerships that improve laboratory practice.
ASCP Executive Vice President E. Blair Holladay, PhD, SCT(ASCP)CM, said ASCP and WASPaLM are partnering this year to build stronger bridges between national and international societies for all members of the laboratory team. WASPaLM represents 45 societies of pathologists and laboratory professionals in 34 countries.
Registration for the 2011 ASCP Annual Meeting is now open.
United States Patent Office Affirms Hamamatsu Photonics’ Pioneering Patent in Digital Pathology
HAMAMATSU, Japan, March 15, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Hamamatsu Photonics K.K. (HPK) is pleased to announce that is has been awarded Reissue Patent No. 42,220 ("RE42,220"), confirming the patentability of its original Patent 6,847,729, a pioneering patent directed to slide scanning with remote viewing.
This patent is for the essential mechanism whereby a microscope slide is scanned and then digitized for remote viewing. The patent covers the basic operation of HPK's line of NanoZoomer® digital pathology instruments (including the NanoZoomer® 2.0HT, and the NanoZoomer® 2.0RS). The NanoZoomer® instruments have been widely accepted in the digital pathology market and the strong patent position of HPK should encourage software manufacturers to develop software that supports the NanoZoomer® platform.
Asked to comment on this seminal digital slide scanning patent, Mr. Hitoshi Iida, Managing Director of HPK, stated, "By reissuing this patent, we believe the USPTO has sustained the validity of this most central digital pathology patent. We now feel confident to move forward with enforcement of our patent rights."
The affirmation of the patentability of the patent claims demonstrates the innovation encompassed in scanning products HPK has developed. While HPK is willing to discuss the licensing of this patent on reasonable terms to others, it is studying the slide scanning products on the market with a view to demanding that all infringements of its RE42,220 patent cease.
All inquiries should be directed to David Leinwand, Esq., at Photonics Management Corporation, 360 Foothill Road, Box 6910,Bridgewater, NJ 08807-0910.
About Hamamatsu Photonics KK
Hamamatsu Photonics K.K. ("HPK") (Japan) is a leading manufacturer of devices for the generation and measurement of infrared, visible, and ultraviolet light. HPK is dedicated to the advancement of photonics through extensive research. HPK is also dedicated to the advancement of Digital Pathology. Digital Pathology is an area expected to improve the accuracy and efficiency of cancer diagnosis and life science research. Applications of Digital Pathology include pathology education, telepathology, computer aided diagnosis, cancer research, drug development, and basic research. Whole slide imaging is a core technology supporting Digital Pathology by converting glass slides to digital slides. The patent aids fast and high resolution conversion and efficient viewing and navigation of slides from remote locations.
SOURCE Hamamatsu Corporation
RELATED LINKS
http://www.hamamatsu.com
Primary interpretations, second opinions/consultations with AccelPath
Transforming Pathology
AccelPath has developed a proprietary workflow system to quickly provide high quality, sub-specialized pathology interpretations to referring physicians and laboratories.
Simple steps to state-of-the-art pathology operations:
- AccelPath installs advanced slide scanners at the customer facility.
- Slides are scanned locally.
- Our proprietary workflow creates a digital case and transmits a requisition and images to the most appropriate pathologist based on specialization, credentials and workload.
- The pathologist performs the interpretation of the digital images and an electronic report is transmitted to the customer, typically within 48 hours.
Further…
- Images and reports are stored on Accelpath's servers offering a redundant solution to local storage capabilities.
- AccelPath's proprietary workflow and network is completely HIPAA compliant.
- Implementation is easy with the help of our experienced team.
- Customers start to realize the advantages of AccelPath services immediately.
Our Services, Your Success AccelPath has invested in top talent and frontline technology to create innovative services designed to enhance pathology operations. Diagnostic Services
Technical Services AccelPath's customers receive:
Value-Added Services We provide value added services at affordable rates, including:
Fast, sub-specialized reporting is the result of our ability to digitally route pathology images to the best pathologists irrespective of their location. This means customers receive reports and the information they need to promptly meet the needs of their patients. Through our unique workflow, we help ensure optimal efficiency, which in turn creates departmental savings. Finally, we can help practices add to the bottom line if there is interest in building an on site pathology laboratory. Contact AccelPath today for more information. |
