Not sure why'd you want to, but if you're so hooked on Facebook you can't imagine getting your social networking on anywhere else—yet can't quite turn down a Google+ invite—there's a way to satisfy your eyes, at least. More »
The next time Russia invades the Mid West, Patrick Swayze and Charlie Sheen won't be there to save us so it's a damn good idea to brush up on your Cyrillic now and avoid the rush. More »
Picasa is limited to 1GB of storage (unless you pay up for more Google bytes) but now there's a free workaround. You can upload unlimited photos (smaller than 2048x2048) and videos (under 15 minutes) Google+ and it doesn't touch your storage limit. [ReadWriteWeb] More »
In this week's app roundup: Google+, unveiled; GPS, painted with direction; North Korea, photographed; iPhones, playing dead; Instagram, challenged by Google; background checks, forever creepy; fourways, on Fring; and much, much more. More »
Numerical simulations reveal that deliberately engineering defects into ultrathin oxide films enhances catalytic water-splitting reactions.
The efforts undertaken in developing renewable energy sources to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels include major research and investment in advanced electricity storage technologies. Among the various existing technologies, lithium batteries are considered as the most competitive power source because of their high energy density, superior power capability, design flexibility and longer lifespan. This article provides an overview of the current patent landscape of rechargeable Li-ion battery, with a focus on the recent developments on nanomaterials and nanotechnologies used for anode, cathode, and electrolyte materials, and the impact of nanomaterials on the performance of rechargeable lithium batteries. Effort has also been taken to identify key players, emerging trends and applications in this area.
Siltronic AG and the Belgian nano-electronics research institute imec have concluded an agreement to collaborate on the development of silicon wafers with a gallium nitride layer as partner of imec's GaN-on-Si industrial affiliation program (IIAP). The endeavor aims to enable production of solid-state lighting (e.g. LEDs) and power semiconductors of the next generation on 200 mm silicon wafers.
Forscherkonsortium will neuartige Impfung gegen Hepatitis C entwickeln.
Like the years before, IVAM Microtechnology Network is organizing the Japanese-German Micro / Nano Business Forum within the "Micromachine/MEMS" in Tokyo, one of the most important exhibitions in the field of micro and nanotechnology in Japan.
Guitar virtuosos have to master all kinds of playing techniques. But how can the intricate process of playing the instrument be captured digitally? A special thin film on the tailpiece has the answer. Functioning as a sensor, it converts the tension on the string into digital control signals.
Magnetic microprocessors could use million times less energy than today's silicon chips.
Researchers can now see objects more precisely and faster at the nanoscale due to utilising the full colour spectrum of synchrotron light, opening the way for faster 3D nanoimaging.
Australian researchers have invented nanotech solar cells that are thin, flexible and use one hundredth the materials of conventional solar cells.
By extending his pioneering acoustical work that applied sound waves to generate droplets from fluids, Dr. Utkan Demirci and his team at Harvard Medical School's (Brigham and Women's Hospital) Bio-Acoustic Mems in Medicine Laboratory report encouraging preliminary results at an early and crucial point in a stem cell's career known as embroid body formation.
Scientists from ETH Zurich, LMU Munich, Princeton and Yale Universities have used resonant laser absorption to examine how a quantum dot with Kondo correlations responds to a quantum quench, i.e. to an abrupt change in the interactions that give rise to Kondo correlations in the first place.
Researchers from the FOM Institute AMOLF, together with colleagues from Philips Research, Eindhoven University of Technology and Delft University of Technology, have made special nanostructures that could be used as light-emitting diodes (LEDs). These nanostructures can be used to control the direction of the emission.
(HealthDay News) -- A new study finds that homosexual men are twice as likely as other males to have been diagnosed with and then survive a cancer, shining a light on the unique medical risks that gay people may face.
It's not the first time that researchers have noted differences in health risks linked to sexual orientation. Gay men, of course, are at higher risk of becoming infected with HIV, while lesbians may be more likely than heterosexual women to get breast cancer. Both gay men and lesbians have higher rates of tobacco use than the general population, and research has shown that lesbians drink more and are more prone to obesity than other women.
The new study adds to existing knowledge, but "there's a painful dearth of data about lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender health in general," noted Liz Margolies, executive director of the National LGBT Cancer Network, who's familiar with the new research. Read more...
Joint Mender for Joint Care
A loyal reader put me onto DRdoubleB over at YouTube, a pathology resident at the University of Florida who put together some high quality music videos with a pathology theme.
Check out "Dynamite Case" about the trials and tribulations of daily sign-out, grossing and trying to go to meetings, "I Got It" for nailing a sarcoma diagnosis & "I Like Path That Way" which has more attending input on the video. Pretty sure my attendings in residency would either not have supported these videos or appeared in them.
Looks like a fun department with a talented resident and supporting cast.
Partnership forged to tackle tumor heterogeneity
Cambridge, MA and Munich, Germany – June 30, 2011 – Metamark Genetics, a privately held oncology molecular diagnostic company, and Definiens, the leading Health Image Intelligence™ company, today announced a development and commercialization partnership in which Metamark will combine its proprietary multiplex protein detection platform with image analysis technology developed jointly with Definiens to deliver innovative prognostic and predictive assays for early-stage cancers.
"Definiens is a clear world leader in quantitative digital pathology and in the analysis of biomarkers in tissue image data,” said Eric Devroe, Ph.D, Vice President of Business & Strategy Development for Metamark. “We see great synergy in combining Definiens’ technology and expertise with Metamark’s unique understanding of tumor heterogeneity and insight into the molecular drivers regulating tumor formation and aggression. We believe that this partnership will enable us to co-develop and implement unique and important image analysis tools."
Metamark’s quantitative diagnostic approach can identify and account for small regions of molecularly aggressive cancer cells within an otherwise indolent tumor. The company is developing a portfolio of prognostic and predictive assays with the ability to address the "heterogeneous" nature of tumors not only between one patient and the next, but also within an individual patient’s tumor.
Definiens has made ground-breaking achievements in the field of biomarker development based on its highly robust and scalable image analysis framework that enables scientists and clinicians to rapidly extract comprehensive biomarker and morphology expression profiles and to identify a relevant subset of descriptors by correlating them against patient outcomes.
"Definiens is pleased to partner with Metamark Genetics, and to incorporate our image and data analysis software technology into Metamark’s pioneering Oncology diagnostic offerings," said Thomas Colarusso, Vice President of Sales & Operations for Definiens Inc. "The capability to provide detailed readouts from tissue analysis is opening up new gateways for developing diagnostic assays as we enter the age of personalized medicine. We believe the Definiens Developer XD and Tissue Studio software will enable Metamark to classify tumor heterogeneity of multiplexed tissue stains and derive prognostic and predictive assays."
About Metamark Genetics, Inc.
Metamark is a privately held oncology company focused on the development of function-based prognostic assays for early staged cancers. The MetamarkDx™ Prognostic Assays under development are based on Metamark’s proprietary Prognosis Determinants™, genes discovered through leading edge cancer research and demonstrated to play a causal role in promoting tumor progression and spread. For further information, please visit the company’s website at http://www.metamarkgenetics.com.
About Definiens
Definiens is a leading Health Image Intelligence™ company that develops software solutions for biomedical image analysis, data mining and clinical decision support. The company’s software analyzes images from cell-based assays, whole tissue slides and full body scans and allows users to correlate this information with data derived from other sources, supporting better decisions in research, diagnostics and therapy. By automating analysis workflows and generating new knowledge, Definiens provides pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, research institutions, clinical service organizations and medical professionals with deeper insights, faster results and better decision support. Harnessing the power of image intelligence, Definiens supports personalized medicine and aims to significantly improve the quality of patients’ lives. Definiens is headquartered in Munich, Germany, and has offices throughout the United States. Further information is available at http://www.definiens.com.
LIVE EVENT JULY 20
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YOUR PRESENTERS:
Jane Pine Wood, Attorney, McDonald Hopkins, LLC
Tom Rehwald, CPA, Chief Financial Officer, InCyte Pathology, PS
Justin M. Clark (Moderator), Director of Operations, THE DARK REPORT
LIVE Event July 20 – Register NOW!
Recovery Audit Contractors Program (RAC) is the new Medicare program that sends independent auditors to provider facilities, including clinical labs and pathology groups. These auditors are out to recover an estimated $24 billion a year resulting from abuse, fraud, and reimbursement problems that have plagued the system for years.
How ready is your lab is for a RAC audit? Probably not very, which leaves you vulnerable when the first letter arrives from an auditor. That’s because the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) have designated four independent companies to conduct RAC audits, and they’ll have surprising powers to view your source documentation.
So what steps can you take now to prepare your lab for a RAC audit? What are your rights during an audit? And how can you effectively challenge and appeal the results of a RAC audit?
Get answers to these questions and more when you register to attend the latest Dark Report and DarkDaily.com audio conference on Wednesday, July 20, 2011. Listen as two experts help you prepare your lab for an RAC audit-and how to minimize its impact.
CMS admits that most overpayments are caused by errors and omissions rather than fraud or abuse-many the result of incorrect coding or insufficient documentation. Still, it’s important to take steps now to fully understand the impact of a RAC audit, and what you can do to ensure that proper procedures are in place to reduce risk and limit your lab’s exposure.
In 90 minutes, you’ll get advice on surviving a RAC audit from the following two experts:
First, Jane Pine Wood, a health-law attorney who specializes in regulatory and compliance issues, provides critical details about the RAC audit program: what it is, how audits are performed, what areas are at risk of being audited, and more. She’ll walk you through the process, starting the moment your lab is notified it’s about to be audited. Using case-study examples, Ms. Wood will explain the procedures your lab should follow when responding to a RAC audit.
Our second speaker, Tom Rehwald, CFO at InCyte Pathology LLC, will share what happened when a RAC audit was conducted at his lab. He’ll provide the practical insights and lessons-learned that come from taking part in an actual audit. Find out how you can stay one step ahead of the auditors. Get a better understanding of the process, including the potential pitfalls you’ll need to watch out for when responding to the results of your audit.
In sports, they say the best defense is a good offense and that definitely applies when it comes to RAC audits. Taking steps now to identify and resolve potential problems before you’re audited can substantially reduce your risk of the auditors finding anything wrong.
Register today and get the best, most up-to-date information on how to prepare your lab for a RAC audit. Find out how to make risk assessment of your lab’s coding, billing and collections processes an ongoing part of your compliance activities. And how improving them can help you avoid future problems.
Finally, the results of an audit aren’t set in stone so don’t be afraid to challenge them, say our experts. One Florida lab appealed overpayments found during their RAC audit and was able to overturn almost 25% of them. In this session, you’ll find out how to decide whether an appeal makes sense, and if so, what steps your lab can take to contest the results of an audit.
This is a terrific opportunity for you and your management team to come up to speed on preparing for a RAC audit. Find out how to resolve noncompliance and overpayment issues before you’re hit with an audit.
And don’t forget: You can have everyone on your lab team participate with you. For just one registration, you can all listen, learn, and get personalized answers to questions about your lab’s unique needs. Register now to guarantee your participation.
THE DARK REPORT AUDIO CONFERENCE AT A GLANCE
TIME: 1 p.m. EDT; 12 p.m. CDT; 11 a.m. MDT; 10 a.m. PDT PLACE: Your telephone or speakerphone COST: $195 per dial-in site (unlimited attendance per site) through 7/8/11; $245 thereafter TO REGISTER NOW: Click here or call 1-800-560-6363 toll-free |
For one low price—just $195 (through 7/8/11; $245 thereafter)—you and your entire team can take part in this fast-paced, insightful audio conference. Best of all, you’ll be able to connect personally with our speakers when we open up the phone lines for live Q&A.
Here’s just some of what you’ll learn during this in-depth 90-minute audio conference:
o The difference between a redetermination letter and reconsideration request, and what could happen if you mix up the two.
o The do’s and don’ts of crafting a redetermination letter to correct possible errors in your audit.
o Key steps for meeting compliance recommendations.
o The documentation that best supports the claims you submit to Medicare.
o How to prepare for an audit if you use a third-party billing service.
o How your lab can use the RAC experience to better educate staff and avoid future compliance and overpayment issues.
o The parallel strategies for attacking a RAC audit, including political action, that your lab should consider implementing
…and much more!
How to Register Now:
1. Online
2. Call toll free: 800-560-6363.
Your audio conference registration includes:
Register Now! Or for more information, call us toll-free at 800-560-6363
Distinguished Faculty:
Jane Pine Wood is a member of McDonald Hopkins, LLC which specializes in health law, including regulatory, compliance, and contractual matters, as well as Medicaid and Medicare reimbursement issues. Ms. Wood represents physicians, hospitals, clinical and anatomic laboratories, imaging centers, home health agencies, mental health providers, clinics, independent practice associations and integrated delivery systems in corporate, regulatory, reimbursement, contractual and other areas. She received her J.D. degree in 1987 from Vanderbilt University School of Law and is admitted to practice in Massachusetts, Ohio and Tennessee.
Tom Rehwald, CPA, has been Chief Financial Officer for InCyte Pathology, PS since 2007. He has been involved in healthcare finance and administration for more than 26 years, with experience that runs the full spectrum of a healthcare systems continuum of care. Prior to his current position, he was the CFO at Spokane Ear, Nose, & Throat Clinic and was CFO at Pathology Associates Medical Laboratories. He also held several positions at Providence Health Care/Sacred Heart Medical Center, including Director of Patient Accounts. He graduated Summa Cum Laude from San Diego State University with a Bachelor of Science degree in business administration with an emphasis in accounting.
ACCENT® Continuing Education Credit
The American Association of Clinical Chemistry (AACC) designates this program for a maximum of 1.5 ACCENT® credit hours towards the AACC Clinical Chemist’s Recognition Award. AACC is an approved provider of continuing education for clinical laboratory scientists in the states of California, Florida, Louisiana, Montana, Nevada, North Dakota, Rhode Island, and West Virginia.
