09-07-2012 01:18 More than 800 images were stitched together to create this image of the Mars surface. *Videos:
See the original post:
Monthly Archives: July 2012
Mars crater image beamed back by Nasa rover Opportunity
Nasa scientists say crater, formed by an impact billions of years ago, is the largest yet encountered • See images from the rover's mission to Mars It could be the Sahara or Egypt's Western Desert, but this sand-covered crater is the latest image from Mars. The picture was taken from US space agency Nasa's Mars exploration rover, Opportunity, close to where the robotic unit spent the winter ...
See original here:
NASA To Launch The Finest Mirrors Ever Made
Want to stay on top of all the space news? Follow @universetoday on Twitter
This Wednesday NASA will launch its High Resolution Coronal Imager (HI-C) mission from White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico, sending a sounding rocket above the atmosphere with some of the best mirrors ever made to capture incredibly-detailed ultraviolet images of our Sun.
HI-C will use a state-of-the-art imaging system to focus on a region near the center of the Sun about 135,000 miles (271,000 km) across. During its brief flight only ten minutes long HI-C will return some of the most detailed images of the Suns corona ever acquired, with a resolution five times that of previous telescopes including NASAs Solar Dynamics Observatory.
While SDO collects images in ten wavelengths, however, HI-C will focus on just one: 193 Angstroms, a wavelength of ultraviolet radiation that best reveals the structures of the Suns corona present in temperatures of 1.5 million kelvin. And although HI-Cs mirrors arent any larger than SDOs about 9.5 inches in diameter they are some of the finest ever made. In addition, an interior maze between mirrors effectively increases HI-Cs focal length.
Researchers expect HI-Cs super-smooth mirrors to resolve coronal structures as small as 100 miles (160 km) across (0.1 arcsec/pixel).
Other instruments in space cant resolve things that small, but they do suggest after detailed computer analysis of the amount of light in any given pixel that structures in the suns atmosphere are about 100 miles across, said Jonathan Cirtain, project scientist for HI-C at NASAs Marshall Space Flight Center. And we also have theories about the shapes of structures in the atmosphere, or corona, that expect that size. HI-C will be the first chance we have to see them.
One of the main goals of HI-C will be to place significant new constraints on theories of coronal heating and structuring, by observing the small-scale processes that exist everywhere in hot magnetized coronal plasma and establishing whether or not there are additional structures below what can currently be seen.
This instrument could push the limits on theories of coronal heating, answering questions such as why the temperature of the suns corona is millions of degrees higher than that of the surface, said Marshalls Dr. Jonathan Cirtain, heliophysicist and principle investigator on the mission.
Read more on the NASA news release here.
Follow this link:
NASA's past considers its future
Former NASA administrator Richard Truly told a National Research Council committee on June 26 that he was utterly confused about NASAs current direction. (credit: J. Foust)
NASA may have had its issues over the years, from strained budgets to programs running behind schedule and over budget, but one thing it has never suffered from is a lack of advice. While the space agency has its own sounding boards, in the form of the NASA Advisory Council and the Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel, there have been plenty of external reviews of the agencys aims and efforts, often created at the behest of the White House or Congress. The result has been a steady stream of reports offering insights and recommendationsalthough that advice often remains trapped on the pages of those reports, never to be implemented by NASA or its overseers on either end of Pennsylvania Avenue.
Another exercise in studying NASAs present situation and offering advice for the agency is underway. The fiscal year 2012 appropriations bill that funded NASA included report language directing the agency to undertake an independent assessment of its strategic direction. That study, the report mandated, would evaluate whether NASAs overall strategic direction remains viable and whether agency management is optimized to support that direction.
NASA brought in the National Research Council to perform the NASAs Strategic Direction study, which is currently underway. The committee has held a pair of public meetings, including one in late June that included presentations by a number of current NASA officials, including administrator Charles Bolden. The June meeting also featured three of Boldens predecessors: Richard Truly, James Beggs, and Sean OKeefe. The perspectives of those former administrators in particular provided some interesting insights into both the agencys past and its future.
Some former administrators, in their comments to the committee, raised concern about the future direction of NASAor, more accurately, a perception that the agency lacks direction. I cant tell you how many times in the last few years I have been asked, What do you think of NASAs new direction? recalled Truly. And I cant answer that question. I am utterly confused.
Truly, who served as NASA administrator from 1989 to 1992, left the space field behind after leaving NASA, eventually taking a position as director of the Department of Energys National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Colorado. He described himself to the committee today as a citizen who lives way out there in the country who watches NASAs activities from afar.
Truly said that after President George W. Bush announced the Vision for Space Exploration, whose elements included the retirement of the Space Shuttle, he got comfortable with the idea of ending the shuttle program to help fund the future exploration systems. But I never dreamed that the president then would not make another speech about the Vision after his January 2004 address at NASA Headquarters, Truly said, and the program was not properly funded. He sounded disappointed that, when the Obama Administration decided to cancel the Constellation program in 2010, it did not decide to keep the shuttle going.
The confusion he said he experiences about NASAs direction should be a concern, he warned. But if Im confused, and you multiply me by the millions of citizens who may also be confused, this is a dangerous situation for NASA. And thats the reason that makes this study so important.
Beggs, who was NASA administrator from mid-1981 through 1985, also expressed concern about NASAs direction in his comments to the committee later the same day. He noted NASAs 2011 strategic plan includes six specific goals, from extend and sustain human activities across the solar system to public outreach and fostering innovation.
Link:
NASA Releases New Mars Rover Pictures During Martain Winter [PHOTOS]
By IBTimes Staff Reporter | Jul 09, 2012 10:40 AM EDT
NASA released new photos on Thursday from the Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity with panoramic pictures showing the terrain over four months during the most recent Martian winter.
The pictures from the Pancam are a full-circle scene comprised of 817 images depicting the terrain where the rover was stationary over a four month period at a northward sloped outcrop called "Greeley Haven" between December 21, 2011 and May 8, 2012.
The rover has been stationed on Mars since January 2004 and most recently worked on Greeley Haven to:
1. Understand Martian spin axis dynamics and thus interior structure through radio-science observations
2. Investigate of the composition and textures of an outcrop exposing an impact-jumbled rock formation on the crater rim,
3. Monitor the atmosphere and surface for changes
4. Acquire a full-color mosaic of the surroundings
View the slideshow to see photos of Mars from NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity and learn more about the project on Greeley Haven here.
NASA released new photos on Thursday from the Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity with panoramic pictures showing the terrain at Greeley Haven over four months during the most recent Martian winter.
See the rest here:
NASA Releases New Mars Rover Pictures During Martain Winter [PHOTOS]
NASA's Final Space Shuttle Mission — Where Are They Now?
One year (and one day) after launching on NASA's final space shuttle mission, the orbiter Atlantis is parked today just a few miles from the launch pad where it lifted off on July 8, 2011.
No longer flight-worthy its main engines replaced with replicas and its hazardous fuel lines removed Atlantis is waiting inside a high bay in the Kennedy Space Center's Vehicle Assembly Building to complete its transformation into a museum-safe displaylater this year.
This November, NASA plans to roll Atlantis, the last of its space-flown shuttles, down the road to the center's visitor complex, where a $100 million exhibition hall for Atlantis will open to tourists next summer.
Like Atlantis and some of its parts, so too has dispersed the team that led STS-135, the final flight of NASA's 30-year shuttle program. A year since working together to fly one last mission to the International Space Station, the astronauts, Mission Control directors, and managers have since moved on to other missions, programs, and in some cases, other organizations.
The final four
Atlantis' four astronauts commander Chris Ferguson, pilot Doug Hurley and mission specialists Sandy Magnus and Rex Walheim stayed together as a crew for four months after flying the 13-day STS-135 missionfrom July 8 to July 21, 2011.
They toured NASA centers, spoke to the public about their mission, visited with President Obama in the White House and then finally, on Nov. 2, posed for photos together with the crew of the first space shuttle mission, STS-1 astronauts John Young and Bob Crippen. [NASA's Last Shuttle Mission in Pictures]
"We're done," Ferguson said that day, following the photo shoot. "Everyone goes their separate ways right now."
For Ferguson, that meant separating from NASA. On Dec. 9, Ferguson announced he was leaving the space agency. He accepted a position with Boeing, overseeing the design and development of the crew systems for their potential shuttle replacement, a capsule the company is calling the Commercial Space Transportation, or CST, 100.
Boeing's CST-100 is among a small group of commercial spacecraft competing for a NASA contract to fly astronauts to and from the space station. NASA is expected to reveal its choices of vehicles this summer.
More:
Nanotech Achieves 1st Roll-to-Roll Commercial Scale Production Run
VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwire -07/09/12)- Nanotech Security Corp. (the "Company") (NTS.V) is pleased to announce that the Company has successfully completed its first large scale test-run using its nanotechnology-based optical security feature, NOtES. An independent third party was contracted to conduct a production test-run embossing images onto a 300 metre (1000 ft) PET transparent plastic film. The third party is a multi-billion dollar world leader in optical products. The approximately 27cm (10.5 in) wide film was run on a continuous roll-to-roll basis over the entire length and comprises 8 columns of optical images arrayed in rows with some images being continuous, and others which are separated by .5 cm spacing. Over every 27 sq. centimeters there are some 23 separate and clearly visible nanotechnology- based optical images embossed onto the plastic substrate. Of the 8 columns, 2 columns were single continuous images over the full 300 metre length demonstrating common pre-requisites for potential bank note applications.
The production run shows that the Company's origination process and master shims used by the third parties embossing equipment were able to transfer separate and continuous images accurately onto the film over a commercial scale run. The technology proved to be extremely robust in the high-volume, high-speed setting - with the last ten metres performing as strongly as the first ten metres. Images of this film which represents a revolutionary optical-tagging system will be available in the near future on the Company's website at http://www.nanosecurity.ca/press_imagesvideos.php.
Doug Blakeway commented, "We are very pleased by the results of this test which demonstrated the technical feasibility of using the Company's patent-pending, highly advanced nano-hole optical technology in a large scale commercial application. The plastic film test-run was imprinted with over 150,000 separate and easily visible iridescent optical images which, once the production run was set up, were produced in a matter of minutes. This technical proof-of-concept is a major breakthrough for the Company's scientific team and we look forward to sharing our developments with the many potential users who are keenly following our progress."
About Nanotech Security Corp.:
With a nearly 30 year history in security applications for law enforcement, Nanotech Security Corp. licensed nanotechnology which originated at Simon Fraser University in order to try to develop products to sell into the authentication and anti-counterfeiting market. The technology uses patented algorithms with electron and ion beam technology to fabricate hundreds of millions of nano-holes into a wide variety of materials. These nano-holes can be arrayed into unique patterns which employ the surface plasmonic physics of light waves to collect and reflect concentrated light in readily visible images somewhat similar to holograms but with certain superior technical and commercial aspects. The technology allows images which are visible to the naked eye as well as so-called covert features which are readable only by machine. The company is working to enhance security for banknotes but other potential commercial applications include authenticating legal documents, designer merchandise, concert tickets, tax-paid stamps, medical & credit cards, government documents, passports, and pharmaceuticals. More information on the company can be found at http://www.nanosecurity.ca.
This news release contains forward looking information or statements. Investors are cautioned that such forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties including, the risk that commercial products using the nano-technology will never be successfully developed, the need for unknown amounts of additional capital that will dilute shareholders if it is available at all (for which there can be no certainty). Investors are cautioned that any such forward looking statements are not guarantees for future performance and the actual results or developments may differ materially from those suggested in such statements. For more information on the Company, investors should review the Company's home jurisdiction filings that are available at http://www.sedar.com.
THE TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE DOES NOT ACCEPT RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ADEQUACY OR ACCURACY OF THIS RELEASE.
More:
Nanotech Achieves 1st Roll-to-Roll Commercial Scale Production Run
Researchers use nanotech to make cancer 3M times more detectable
Scientists at Princeton University say they have used nanotechnology to make tests to detect diseases, like cancer and Alzheimer's disease, 3 million times more sensitive.
That means what researchers are calling a breakthrough in nanotechnology and medicine could enable doctors to detect these illnesses at much earlier stages, when they are more treatable.
"This advance opens many new and exciting opportunities ... in disease early detection and treatment," said Stephen Chou, a Princeton engineering professor, who led the research team. "You can have very early detection with our approach."
Princeton researchers used nanotechnology to improve a biological test called an immunoassay, which measures the concentration of a substance in a body fluid sample, and is used to find markers for cancers and Alzheimer's, in patients. The test produces a fluorescent glow when the disease is detected. The stronger the presence of the disease, the brighter the test glows.
However, if only faint, early-stage, traces of the disease are present, the glow can't be detected and the disease could be missed.
The Princeton researchers used nanotechnology to amplify the fluorescence, which gave them a 3-million-fold improvement in detection. It means the test now can detect disease with 3 million times fewer disease biomarkers present.
The earlier a cancer can be detected, the sooner treatment can begin, and the better chance a patient has of survival.
The key to the breakthrough, according to Princeton's researchers, lies in a new nanomaterial they call D2PA. The nanomaterial, which was developed in Chou's lab, consists of a thin layer of gold nanostructures surrounded by glass pillars that are 60 nanometers in diameter. About 1,000 of the pillars can be laid side-by-side and still only be as wide as a human hair.
Each pillar, spaced 200 nanometers apart, is capped with a gold disk. Each pillar also is speckled with even smaller gold dots. The pillars boost the collection and transmission of light by a billion-fold, Princeton said.
The university noted that Chou is focused on using the new technology to detect early-stage breast and prostate cancers. He also is working with researchers at the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York to develop tests to detect proteins associated with early stage Alzheimer's disease.
More:
Researchers use nanotech to make cancer 3M times more detectable
Researchers Use Nanotech to Make Cancer 3 Million Times More Detectable
Scientists at Princeton University say they have used nanotechnology to make tests to detect diseases, like cancer and Alzheimer's disease, 3 million times more sensitive.
That means what researchers are calling a breakthrough in nanotechnology and medicine could enable doctors to detect these illnesses at much earlier stages, when they are more treatable.
"This advance opens many new and exciting opportunities ... in disease early detection and treatment," said Stephen Chou, a Princeton engineering professor, who led the research team. "You can have very early detection with our approach."
Princeton researchers used nanotechnology to improve a biological test called an immunoassay, which measures the concentration of a substance in a body fluid sample, and is used to find markers for cancers and Alzheimer's, in patients. The test produces a fluorescent glow when the disease is detected. The stronger the presence of the disease, the brighter the test glows.
However, if only faint, early-stage, traces of the disease are present, the glow can't be detected and the disease could be missed.
The Princeton researchers used nanotechnology to amplify the fluorescence, which gave them a 3-million-fold improvement in detection. It means the test now can detect disease with 3 million times fewer disease biomarkers present.
The earlier a cancer can be detected, the sooner treatment can begin, and the better chance a patient has of survival.
The key to the breakthrough, according to Princeton's researchers, lies in a new nanomaterial they call D2PA. The nanomaterial, which was developed in Chou's lab, consists of a thin layer of gold nanostructures surrounded by glass pillars that are 60 nanometers in diameter. About 1,000 of the pillars can be laid side-by-side and still only be as wide as a human hair.
Each pillar, spaced 200 nanometers apart, is capped with a gold disk. Each pillar also is speckled with even smaller gold dots. The pillars boost the collection and transmission of light by a billion-fold, Princeton said.
The university noted that Chou is focused on using the new technology to detect early-stage breast and prostate cancers. He also is working with researchers at the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York to develop tests to detect proteins associated with early stage Alzheimer's disease.
Read the original:
Researchers Use Nanotech to Make Cancer 3 Million Times More Detectable
Nanotechnology may aid diagnosis
A common type of lab test used in research and medicine can be made three million times more sensitive, raising hopes that certain cancers and Alzheimer's disease can be detected earlier.
That is the conclusion of new research by Princeton University engineers, published in the journal Analytical Chemistry, which describes an improved lab test that uses nanotechnology.
The test is called a fluorescent immunoassay, a laboratory staple for decades. It relies on antibodies that bind with specific proteins or biomarkers in a sample of fluid, such as blood or urine. The antibodies are "labeled" in such a way that they emit a fluorescent glow indicating that the target protein is present.
The Princeton researchers used an array of nano-antennas to amplify this type of fluorescence so that targeted proteins, such as those that may herald the presence of certain cancers, could be detected at much lower levels.
The antenna arrays consist of glass pillars measuring just 60 billionths of a meter in height, each capped with a tiny gold disk. The pillars also have smaller gold dots on their sides.
The system acts somewhat like the wooden body of a violin, which transmits the vibrations of the strings to the surrounding air, said senior author Stephen Y. Chou, a professor of electrical engineering at Princeton. "Without the body, you'd struggle to hear the sound," he said.
Chou and his colleagues evaluated their technology on fluid containing a standard lab protein called human immunoglobin G ordinarily detectable at a concentration of about one-billionth of a mole (a basic unit in chemistry) per liter. The team detected the protein at a concentration three million times lower.
The test could help diagnose Alzheimer's disease, which researchers try to detect by taking samples of cerebrospinal fluid, a relatively invasive procedure. Chou's technology, which detects much smaller concentrations in blood, "would be much easier and faster to use," said Yueming Li, a researcher at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center who advised Chou on the research.
The group is conducting further research to detect biomarkers for specific diseases, such as breast and prostate cancers.
Tom Avril
See the original post:
What is “concierge medicine” and how does it impact you?
Readmore: Local, News, Health, Consumer, Concierge Medicine, Doctors, Insurance Companies, Members only Practice, Private Practice, Doctor Patient Relationship, Donald Vanorden, Health Care System, Healthcare, Insurence, American Academy of Private Physicians, American Medical Association
If you're one of the millions of Americans who have received a letter from your doctor informing you they're changing things up to become a "members only" practice, you know the growth of so-called "concierge medicine."
A government commission recently found the number of such red-carpet practices has increased five-fold in the last six years.
Dr. Jennifer Chilek went into private practice eight years ago at Stone Creek Family Medicine in Montgomery, Texas, but, like so many doctors across the country, she's felt the pinch as overhead goes up and reimbursements go down.
"The insurance companies have handcuffed small practices," she says.
The only way to make ends meet was to bring in more patients, which in turn means less face time with your doctor.
"The health care system is destroying the doctor-patient relationship. I couldn't have kept going the way that it was," Chilek explains.
So this year Chilek joined an estimated 3,500 private practitioners who've switched to so-called concierge or boutique medicine, which has swept the nation the last decade.
Patients pay an annual fee from $600 to $5,000, even $20,000, and insurance is not accepted.
Chilek chose a newer, more affordable model called practice membership that works with your insurance.
See more here:
Annals of Internal Medicine tip sheet for July 10, 2012, online issue
Public release date: 9-Jul-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Abbey Anderson aanderson@acponline.org 215-351-2656 American College of Physicians
1. Free Curriculum Aims to Educate Internal Medicine Residents About Wasteful Health Care Spending
Developed by the American College of Physicians and the Alliance for Academic Internal Medicine, the New Curriculum is Part of ACP's Ongoing High-Value, Cost-Conscious Care Initiative
Economists warn that health care spending in the United States is rising at an unsustainable rate. To slow the rate of increase, while preserving high quality care, thought leaders in academic medicine suggest that clinicians focus on using medical interventions that provide good value. This means that clinicians should weigh potential benefits against potential harms and costs before initiating an intervention. As part of an ongoing initiative to promote high-value, cost-conscious care, the American College of Physicians (ACP) and the Alliance for Academic Internal Medicine (AAIM) developed a free curriculum to help train internal medicine residents about how to avoid overuse and misuse of tests and treatments that do not improve outcomes and may cause harms. The high-value, cost-conscious care curriculum is designed to engage internal medicine residents and faculty in small group activities organized around actual patient cases that require careful analysis of the benefits, harms, costs, and use of evidence-based, shared decision making. According to the study authors, the curriculum is important because physicians receive little specific training about identifying and eliminating wasteful treatment options. Since habits that are learned during residency training have been shown to stick with physicians throughout their professional careers, it is an optimal time to prepare physicians to become good stewards of health care resources. ACP-AAIM members and staff, program directors, associate program directors, a department chair, residency faculty, and internal medicine residents collaborated to develop the curriculum. It can be accessed for free at http://www.highvaluecarecurriculum.org,
2. Evidence Reveals Little Difference in Efficacy Between Intensive Insulin Therapies, Glucose Monitoring Approaches
Advances in intensive insulin therapy and glucose monitoring are designed to improve glycemic control and quality of life while limiting adverse effects such as hypoglycemia and weight gain. Currently, there are several therapies being heavily marketed to patients, but there is little objective evidence available to guide decision making about which therapy is best for the individual patient. Researchers reviewed published studies to evaluate how intensive insulin therapy (multiple daily injections versus insulin pump) or mode of blood glucose monitoring (self-monitoring versus real-time monitoring) affects outcomes in children and adults with type 1 or 2 diabetes. The researchers found that insulin pump and multiple-daily injections have similar effects on glycemic control and the incidence of severe hypoglycemia in children and adolescents with type 1 diabetes and in adults with type 2 diabetes. However, insulin pump yielded better satisfaction with diabetes treatment in children with type 1 diabetes, and better diabetes-specific quality-of-life in adults with type 1 diabetes. As for blood-glucose monitoring, real-time monitoring achieved a lower blood glucose level compared to self-monitoring. The researchers also found that real-time glucose monitoring was associated with a lower blood glucose level compared with multiple daily injection in individuals 18 years of age or younger, but the rate of severe hypoglycemia, weight gain, and quality of life did not seem to differ between intervention groups. Patients that used a sensor-augmented pump experienced greater reduction in blood glucose compared to multiple daily injection/self-monitoring use in individuals with type 1 diabetes. The researchers conclude that based on the evidence, physicians can use patient preference to guide treatment decisions for type 1 and type 2 diabetes.
###
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.
See original here:
Annals of Internal Medicine tip sheet for July 10, 2012, online issue
BG Medicine, Inc. to Present at the JMP Securities Healthcare Conference
WALTHAM, Mass., July 9, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- BG Medicine, Inc. (BGMD), a company focused on the development and commercialization of novel cardiovascular diagnostics, announced today that it will present at the upcoming JMP Securities Healthcare Conference on Friday, July 13, 2012 at 11:30 a.m. Eastern Time. Eric Bouvier, President and CEO of the Company, will present an overview of BG Medicine. The corporate presentation will be available to the public through a webcast accessible by visiting: http://wsw.com/webcast/jmp18/bgmd/ or the "Investors" section of the Company's website at http://www.bg-medicine.com. Replays will be available for 30 days after the presentation.
About BG Medicine, Inc.
BG Medicine, Inc. (BGMD) is a life sciences company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of novel cardiovascular diagnostics to address significant unmet medical needs, improve patient outcomes and contain healthcare costs. The Company's first commercialized product, the BGM Galectin-3TM test for use in patients with heart failure, is available in the United States and Europe. BG Medicine is also developing CardioSCORE, a blood test designed to identify individuals at high risk for near-term major cardiovascular events, such as heart attack and stroke. For additional information about BG Medicine, heart failure and galectin-3 testing, please visit http://www.bg-medicine.com and http://www.galectin-3.com.
The BG Medicine Inc. logo is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=10352
See the article here:
BG Medicine, Inc. to Present at the JMP Securities Healthcare Conference
Primary Care To Be Job One For New Medical School
NORTH HAVEN
In a year, Quinnipiac University expects to open the third medical school in the state to help ease a dramatic shortage of primary care doctors and to create a new brand of physician a doctor comfortable in a collaborative team of professionals.
To outsiders, Quinnipiac might seem an unlikely place for one of the 18 new medical schools planned around the country. But those familiar with Quinnipiac's expansion, from regional college to higher-profile university, as well as its health-care focused programs see the medical school as a logical next step.
Dr. Bruce Koeppen, who was dean of academic affairs at the University of Connecticut School of Medicine when he read about Quinnipiac's plan, says his first reaction was: "Who do they think they are? There's no way they could possibly do this.'"
But within months Koeppen was named dean of Quinnipiac's nascent medical school and supervisor of the $100 million effort to get it built, staffed and accredited. He is particularly excited about building "a medical school from scratch" that will train physicians with the latest in facilities, curriculum and approach.
"We've hired people Many had wanted to make changes in the medical schools where they were and were frustrated that nothing happened. Here we have a clean slate and no barriers in the way," said Koeppen, whose office is not from the construction site.
The university is renovating a former Blue Cross Anthem buildling on its North Haven campus for the school, aimed at producing primary care physicians who are in short supply. Even in its design, the new school hopes to foster a team approach by ensuring that medical students and the students in other health programs cross paths and share common space.
In many schools, doctors are trained to be "the captain of the ship or the pilot of the airplane and everyone is supposed to obey them. There is a lot of evidence out there that you get better outcomes, better patient safety, if the individuals that are taking care of the patient are really working as a team," said Koeppen, 60.
"The analogy is a pit crew for NASCAR," Koeppen said. "Where you have a group of people with very specific talents and knowledge and expertise on the pit crew coming together to take care of the car."
The Frank H. Netter M.D. School of Medicine, as Quinnipiac's new school is called, is part of a wave of medical school development that began in the past decade, after a period from the early 1980s to 2000 when there were essentially no new medical schools.
See the original post here:
Liberty Announces Hall of Fame Class of 2012
From Liberty athletics:
LYNCHBURG, Va. Representatives from football, men's and women's basketball, wrestling and the men's track & field program will be among the next five members inducted into the Liberty Athletics Hall of Fame in September.
The five-member class, the fourth such to be inducted into the Liberty Athletics Hall of Fame, will be honored during special ceremonies surrounding Liberty's football match-up with Lehigh on Sept. 22 at Williams Stadium.
The five-member class includes Jesse Castro (wrestling), Mark Chafin (men's basketball), John Sanders (football), Sharon Snodgrass (women's basketball) and Ryan Werner (men's track & field).
The Liberty Athletics Hall of Fame induction ceremony will be held on Sept. 21 on the Club Pavilion level of the Williams Stadium Tower, while the five-member class will receive special recognition during the Lehigh game the evening following the ceremony.
The Liberty Athletics Hall of Fame celebrates the best of the best, honoring those who helped shape the face of Liberty Athletics. The Hall of Fame's now 22 members have each played a key role in helping Liberty grow from an NCCAA program in 1972 to its current status as a thriving NCAA Division I program today.
Jesse Castro
(Wrestling 1977-81)
See the article here:
Liberty University's Upcoming Art Gallery Season Sure to Capture Gazes, Imagination
The Liberty University Art Gallery aims to become a cultural hub for the campus and the community.Lynchburg, VA (PRWEB) July 09, 2012 Thanks to the growth and expansion of Liberty University’s Department of Studio and Digital Arts, the campus has been graced with an array of stunning visual enhancements.For the 2012-13 academic year, SADA has a full art exhibition season lined up, promising to ...
Continue reading here:
Liberty University's Upcoming Art Gallery Season Sure to Capture Gazes, Imagination
Liberty Property Trust Hosts Second Quarter 2012 Results Conference Call
MALVERN, Pa., July 9, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --Liberty Property Trust (LRY) will host its second quarter results conference call on Tuesday, July 24, 2012, at 1:00 P.M., ET. The call can be accessed by dialing (888) 870-2815 and entering the passcode 98243676. The conference call will also be available live at http://www.libertyproperty.com in the "Investor Relations" section of the site. Liberty will issue a press release detailing results the same day before the market opens.
If you are unable to join the conference call, you may access the archived webcast, also in the Investor Relations section of the web site. In addition, a recording will be available telephonically until August 17, 2012 by dialing (855) 859-2056 and using the passcode 98243676.
Liberty Property Trust (LRY) is a leader in commercial real estate, serving customers in the United States and United Kingdom, through the development, acquisition, ownership and management of superior office and industrial properties. Liberty's 77 million square foot portfolio consists of 650 properties providing office, distribution and light manufacturing facilities to 1,700 tenants.
See the original post:
Liberty Property Trust Hosts Second Quarter 2012 Results Conference Call
Liberty Silver Corp. Successfully Completes First Phase of 2012 Drilling Program
TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwire - July 9, 2012) - Liberty Silver Corp. (LSL.TO)(LBSV) ("Liberty Silver" or the "Company") is pleased to announce results of the first phase of its 2012 drilling program in the Trinity silver mining district in Pershing County, Nevada. Drilling was directed to the exploration of selected areas adjacent to the resource zone identified in the Company's 2011 NI 43-1012 technical report (the "Resource Area"), as well as confirmation of that resource.
Highlights
Bill Tafuri, President and COO, said, "We are extremely pleased with the results from phase one of our 2012 drilling program. Trinity is a large, high quality asset that provides us with a relatively low-risk opportunity to expand the known Resource, and also has high quality exploration targets. We are very excited about the potential revealed by the first phase of drilling."
PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS
Eighteen vertical drill holes were completed to depths of up to 1,500 feet in rhyolite and underlying metasedimentry host rocks by reverse circulation for a total of (20,030) feet. Drilling tested parts of five (5) geographic domains in the vicinity of the southern end the Trinity open pit mine and the 43-101 Resource Area. Sixteen holes intercepted sample intervals greater than 1 opt silver ("Ag") with grades as high as 15 opt Ag. Sulfide zone samples contain up to 1.7 % lead ("Pb") and 1.6 % zinc ("Zn"). A map of the location of the drill holes can be found on the Company's website at: http://www.libertysilvercorp.com.
In addition to 18 holes drilled during phase 1 of the 2012 drilling program, approximately 395 holes were drilled during the period from 1982-2007, mainly by US Borax. While approximately 50 of these holes are widely spaced throughout the approximate 13 square-mile area of interest, the large majority are located within an approximate one square mile area centered on the Trinity open pit silver mine. Based on historical(1) and current assays, all holes contain anomalous silver throughout. The non-43-101-compliant average grade for all 413 holes is 0.70 opt Ag.
The following Table summarizes the oxide mineralization encountered in the drilling:
The Following Table summarizes the deeper sulfide mineralization as well as base metals of interest:
The three holes drilled in Domain 1, penetrated to depths of 1,040 to 1,120 ft and contain weakly anomalous Ag throughout. Very thin horizons of Ag at 1.2 to 5.1 opt Ag are found spatially associated with speculated fault zones at 635 to 700 ft depths.
Domain 2 (Holes A12-1, -2, -3 and -6) is located immediately southwest of the south end of the Trinity pit. Holes A12-1 and A12-6 host no oxide Ag above 0.5 opt but do contain sulfide Ag averaging 0.90 opt and 0.95 opt Ag, respectively with grades improving at depth. A12-2 contains 1.0 opt oxide Ag at a depth of 80 to 90 ft while A12-3 contains 0.77 opt oxide Ag from 105-115 ft deep.
Read more:
Liberty Silver Corp. Successfully Completes First Phase of 2012 Drilling Program
Liberty Shareholders Approve Debt Restructuring
TSX: LBE
TORONTO , July 9, 2012 /CNW/ - Liberty Mines Inc. today announced that it received approval at its annual meeting of shareholders to consolidate its credit facilities with Jien International Investment Limited (JIIL), and extend the terms to a new maturity date of June 30, 2017 .
Following shareholder approval and subject to the execution of a new loan agreement with JIIL in due course, the consolidated credit facility will have an outstanding principal amount of: (i) $48,914,849 and (ii) US$19,348,828 plus accrued interest to date. The credit facility bears interest at 10% per annum, which is secured against the assets of the Company, and no interest will be payable until June 30 , 2014. Related to the new maturity date and consolidated terms, JIIL has also agreed to expand the available credit facility by an additional $10,000,000 as well as continues to provide an available facility to address the preferred shares if redeemed prior to June 30, 2013 .
"Consolidating the credit facilities and extending the terms out five years was based on Liberty's five year business plan," said Chris Stewart , President & CEO of Liberty Mines. "This change allows us the opportunity to ramp up our production in Timmins so that we can generate some solid financial results to start repaying our debt. With the continued support of our major shareholder Jilin Jien, we have been able to execute our turnaround strategy for Liberty Mines and we are now focused on moving ahead with our plans for the Timmins operations."
At the annual meeting, Liberty shareholders also approved the election of Mr. Shu Wu , Mr. John Pinsent , Dr. Tao Li , Dr. Shu Zhang , Mr. Kim Oishi , Mr. Chris Stewart and Mr. James Xiang as directors of the Company. The directors bring a combination of mining, capital markets and public company experience.
Liberty shareholders also approved the nomination of BDO Dunwoody as the auditors for the Company.
Liberty has filed the full voting results of its annual meeting on SEDAR.
About Liberty Mines Inc. Liberty Mines Inc. is a mid-tier producer of nickel and is focused on the exploration, development and production of nickel, copper, cobalt and platinum group metals from its properties in Ontario, Canada . It owns and operates the only nickel concentrator in the Shaw Dome, a prospective nickel belt region near Timmins, Ontario. With a new management team in place, Liberty is focused on growth initiatives not only through a more aggressive exploration program on its current properties but also through potential acquisition or partnership opportunities beyond its core Timmins area projects.
See the original post:
Liberty Energy Completes Assignment of Oil and Gas Assets in Texas
HOUSTON, July 9, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Liberty Energy Corp. (LBYE) ("Liberty" or "the Company") is pleased to announce the completion of its acquisition of over 1,000 acres in Bastrop, Caldwell and Eastland Counties, Texas.
The acquisition falls in line with the Company's strategy of growing shareholder value through acquiring assets in proven onshore oil and gas play within the US. The leases are considered to be highly prospective, with a mixture of work-over potential and exploration and development drilling.
The Company is working to finalize geological and geophysical work plans to be completed on the new leases. All of the new leases are considered to be low risk being positioned within proven, multiple payzone, producing counties. The Company also intends to work with existing partners to investigate and further develop the new and existing leases.
Ian Spowart, Chief Executive Officer, commented: "Whilst our strategy is to expand aggressively, we are always looking to maximize returns and increase shareholder value. The new acreage is a great addition to our existing portfolio and we look forward to providing further information on geological and geophysical work to be carried out on the new leases in due course."
Bastrop County
Bastrop County is located in South Texas. The majority of production in Bastrop is attributed to the Austin Chalk and Navarro formations.1 The county presently houses over 1,700 wells and over 170 operators including; Texas Vanguard Oil Company, Chalker Operating Inc. and Petro-Gas Inc.2 The Eagle Ford Shale formation is in the oil maturity window and is present in Bastrop County. The play is 50 miles wide and an average of 250 feet thick at a depth between 4,000 and 12,000 feet. The oil reserves are estimated at 3 billion barrels of oil (BBO) with potential output of 420,000 barrels of oil per day (bopd).1 Major producers in the county include Anadarko, Exxon-XTO and PetroHawk. Liberty will, under the terms of the LOI, acquire five leases comprising approximately 630 highly prospective acres within the county.
Caldwell County
There are four main pay zones within Caldwell County, the Sepertine, Dale Lime, Austin Chalk and Edwards. There are currently 385 operators (including Eagle Ford Oil Co., Inc., Luling O&G LLC and Texas Petroleum Investment Co.) and nearly 9,000 wells in Caldwell County.3 From March 2010 to March 2011 the county produced over 1 million barrels of oil (MMBO).4 Liberty will, under the terms of the LOI, acquire two leases comprising approximately 300 greatly prospective acres within the county.
Eastland County
In addition to having the Marble Falls, Duffer and Mississippian formations, Eastland County is the westernmost extension of the Barnett Shale play and can be considered as part of the active Barnett Shale play area.5 The Bend Arch has had a significant effect on the Barnett Shale in regards to regarding its burial history and geo-thermal makeup. The Barnett is the source rock for the hydrocarbons produced from many of the shallower zones over the Bend Arch such as the Marble Falls and Duffer. There are currently 893 operators (including North Ridge Corporation, Sun Expl. & Prod. Co.-Abilene and B & B Oil, Inc.) and over 10,900 wells in Eastland County.2 Using a geology-based assessment methodology, the U.S. Geological Survey estimated a mean of 26.7 trillion cubic feet (TCF) of undiscovered natural gas, a mean of 98.5 MMBO undiscovered oil, and a mean of 1.1 billion barrels of undiscovered natural gas liquids (BBNGL) in the Bend Arch-Fort Worth Basin Province.6 Liberty will, under the terms of the LOI, acquire one lease comprising approximately 110 considerably prospective acres within the county.
Excerpt from:
Liberty Energy Completes Assignment of Oil and Gas Assets in Texas