NASA's effort to launch a pair of satellites to Earth's radiation belts has been delayed until late next week because of Tropical Storm Isaac.
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Monthly Archives: August 2012
Stormy Weather Thwarts 2nd Launch Try for NASA Radiation Probes
NASA delayed the launch of two new space radiation probes for the second day in a row Saturday (Aug. 25), this time due to stormy weather.
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Stormy Weather Thwarts 2nd Launch Try for NASA Radiation Probes
Would-be doctor arrested; practiced medicine in Midlands
Authorities say a Georgia man, arrested Friday for practicing medicine without a license, worked at five Midlands-area senior centers and rehabilitation facilities run by West Columbia-based Agape Senior. The company operates 23 assisted living, skilled nursing care, rehab and hospice facilities in the state.
Ernest Osei Addo, 48, was arrested at his home in Austell, Ga., on Friday, two days after he quit his job with Agape Primary Care, the Lexington County Sheriffs Department said.
Addo was hired by Agape in February 2012. He presented the credentials of an Orangeburg man who is licensed to practice medicine in South Carolina, Sheriff James Metts said.
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While working for Agape Senior, Addo allegedly provided medical services for as many as 500 patients at the five local Agape facilities: Agape Senior West Columbia, 2705 Leaphart Road, West Columbia; Agape Senior Kathwood, 4520 Trenholm Road, Columbia; Agape Senior Harbison, 990 Columbia Ave., Irmo; Agape Senior Lexington, 5422 Augusta Road, Lexington; and Agape Rehab, 300 Agape Drive, West Columbia.
Addo came to the attention of authorities when the doctor in Orangeburg reported that Addo, a friend, had stolen his identity and was practicing medicine and using credit cards in the doctors name.
The sheriffs department declined to release the name Addo assumed. Addo did resemble the Orangeburg doctor, Lexington County Sheriffs Department spokesman Major John Allard said.
Lexington County authorities are trying to determine whether Addo had some medical training that allowed him to convincingly impersonate a doctor. They have found no evidence that Addo is licensed to practice medicine anywhere in the United States, Allard said. There is also no indication that Addo is wanted for any crimes anywhere in the U.S.
Addo was being held at the Cobb County Detention Center in Marietta, Ga., awaiting extradition to Lexington County, Allard said.
Agape Senior declined to take questions about the case. But in a statement released by its chief clinical officer, Janet DiNino, the company said it was cooperating with law enforcement and only learned of the alleged deception on Aug. 22.
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CSU Channel Islands holds anniversary convocation
Calling CSU Channel Islands a "testament to a dream," President Richard Rush celebrated the university's 10th anniversary at a convocation Friday.
Friday, in fact, was the 10-year anniversary of the first day of classes at the Camarillo state university. Anniversary events, however, are planned throughout the year.
"Higher education is the pathway to a better life," Rush told a crowd of faculty, staff, students and parents, past and present. "But the state has reduced (CSU) funding by $750 million and is threatening another $250 million if tax proposals don't pass this year. It's a dismissal of our children's and grandchildren's future."
But Rush and other speakers, including Greg Sawyer, vice president of student affairs, talked about triumphs as well.
"It's the Channel Islands way," Sawyer said after the convocation about the university's founding. "We gathered together people who are resilient and motivated, and it was the right combination of people. It wasn't one of us, it was all of us working seven days a week 10 to 12 hours a day."
"When you strip it all away," Rush said after the ceremony, "we answered the challenge of building a university for students. We built it for student success. It's on mission statements all over the campus, and everybody here believes in that mission."
Rush said he was proud of the public and private partnerships built at the university. "I'm not intimidated by public-private partnerships," he said. "I was told when we started that we faced an uphill battle in funding, and I knew what that meant."
Retired Capt. James McHugh, former commander of Naval Base Ventura County, said, "I've seen this university grow and it's been great the way they've reached out to veterans and have been successful in partnering with the U.S. military.
"If I or any base commander recommends a veteran to the school, they work with that person or those people and it's a great partnership," he said.
David Ashley, a senior majoring in biology and the current student body president, agreed "there's an enormous sense of community at Channel Islands. We have civility in our discourse and we respect each other and it's given me so much."
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Jeffrey Epstein, Financier, Fights For The Only Disabilities Advocacy Group In The US Virgin Islands
NEW YORK, Aug. 25, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --On the heels of an unprecedented class action lawsuit by disabled citizens in the US Virgin Islands against their government (VI Alliance v. the Government of the US Virgin Islands), financier, Jeffrey Epstein and the Jeffrey Epstein VI Foundation, have provided critical funding for the Disability Rights Center of the Virgin Islands (DRCVI), the only legal advocacy organization for the disabled in the US Virgin Islands.
Established by Congress in 1977, to provide legal aid to the disabled in the US Virgin Islands, the DRCVI was originally called the Committee on Advocacy for the Developmentally Disabled, Inc. Today, the DRCVI is a member of the National Disability Rights Network (NDRN), the largest provider of legally based advocacy services for people with disabilities in the United States. With the success of the lawsuit, the DRCVI is closely monitoring and supporting the US Virgin Island's obligation to implement a host of reforms for the disabled under a five year plan.
Founded in 2000, the Jeffrey Epstein VI Foundation supports science education and youth based programs around the country and is based in St. Thomas in the US Virgin Islands.
Areas that the DRCVI will be monitoring include: improving disability access in schools, government buildings, restaurants, shops, theaters and bathrooms, improving public transport access, accessible voting and election processes, reducing abuse and neglect in facilities and community settings, reducing physical and chemical restraints, seclusion, and other methods of containment for the disabled, informing the disabled of their rights, increasing the number of disabled who vote, improving quality healthcare, employment opportunities, assistive technology devices and services and emergency preparedness planning.
"The best way to help any segment of the population is to empower them," Jeffrey Epstein remarked. The DRCVI does just that, by focusing on accessibility, voting power and education." Indeed, the DRCVI's mission statement is to: "advance the legal rights of people with disabilities in the U.S. Virgin Islands."
"We have already seen vast improvements under this five year plan," Amelia Headley LaMont noted who is the Executive Director of the DRCVI. "From voter participation to entry ramps in all buildings of a certain size."
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Jeffrey Epstein, Financier, Fights For The Only Disabilities Advocacy Group In The US Virgin Islands
Brave New Healthcare World – Video
24-08-2012 12:35 Wayne Keathley, President, Mount Sinai Medical Center, weighs in on improving hospital capacity & patient flow with GE Healthcare. Excerpt: "With all the talk about the rise in health care costs and the expense, associated with health care, the reality is, for most hospitals in most parts of the country, even those that are considered the most successful, they operate with very thin operating margins. So, in fact, we have to be even more efficient and more effective in managing our capacity than ever before. And that's not gonna change."
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Those in health care industry say valley jobs are still growing
The conventional wisdom long has been that health jobs always are going to be in demand because people always are going to get sick.
Through the recession, the health care industry fared better than many others both nationally and in the Central Valley. In Stanislaus County, the number of health care jobs has grown every year since 2009.
While hiring has slowed, especially in the past year, many in the field see it poised to continue to grow and possibly thrive as President Barack Obama's Affordable Care Act begins to take effect.
"We have seen a slowdown, we have seen some students have to go outside of acute-care facilities," said Lisa Riggs, director of the associate degree nursing program at Modesto Junior College. "But there are jobs. Jobs in long-term care, in clinics, some of them go to the jails or the prisons. People are getting jobs in a variety of areas, not simply in the larger hospitals."
Riggs said that before the recession, it took about four to five months for all the students from the program to find employment after graduation. Now it takes about a year for all of the graduating class to find work.
Modesto resident E.C. Mitchell made a career switch to health care recently after 20-plus years as an auto mechanic. Since graduating in April, the 41-year-old was hired as a registered nurse at Doctors Medical Center, his first choice.
"I was sure hoping I would find something, but I know it's not as easy to find work as it was even two years ago," said Mitchell, who started work in July. "Sometimes you do have to go a little further out or do something else from what you ideally have in mind. But there are jobs out there."
Mitchell, who was his class representative at MJC, said of the 63 who graduated with him, only a handful still are searching for work. Others found jobs at Doctors, Memorial Medical Center and nursing facilities like Casa de Modesto and Evergreen Nursing & Rehabilitation Care Center.
In the past four years, the health care industry had added almost 2,000 jobs in Stanislaus County. A lot of the growth came from the opening of the Kaiser Modesto Medical Center in October 2008.
Corwin Harper, senior vice president and area manager for Kaiser Permanente Central Valley Service Area, said the new hospital has added more than 600 staff and more than 100 doctors since opening, bringing the total number of employees close to 1,000.
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Those in health care industry say valley jobs are still growing
LSU health care leader out after criticizing cuts
BATON ROUGE -- After clashing with Gov. Bobby Jindal's administration over budget cuts, the LSU System's top health care leader was ousted Friday from his role overseeing the university's network of public hospitals and clinics.
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60% TStorms
Governor Mike Beebe's Weekly Column and Radio Address: Bold Steps for Better Patient Care
In the past week, a new federal pilot program, called the Comprehensive Primary Care Initiative, was introduced in eight states, including Arkansas. Under this program, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services will pay incentives to 66 primary-care medical practices in Arkansas to support enhanced, coordinated services. At the same time, private, state, and other federal insurance plans will offer their own bonuses to these same doctors.
To receive these incentives, primary-care physicians must provide increased services to their patients. These services include longer and more flexible hours and the use of electronic health records. Doctors will also be expected to coordinate care with the patients' other health-care providers to eliminate duplicate or unnecessary procedures. These doctors will also encourage their patients to become more involved in their own care. Finally, physicians or health-care professionals must also provide individualized, enhanced care for patients living with multiple chronic diseases and complex medical needs. There are about 50,000 Arkansans on federal insurance plans already being treated through these practices.
This federal program shares our state goal of achieving improved, more affordable health care. This is why we think Arkansas's Health Care Payment Improvement Initiative will make us a national leader in shaping our own health-care destiny. Both the state and federal initiatives encourage primary physicians to solve patients' medical problems as efficiently as possible. When health-care episodes are coordinated by a single provider, information already in a patient's medical records is more likely to be used before new tests and procedures are ordered.
Arkansas's initiative has the potential to slow the rise of health-care costs, temper the cost demands on our taxpayers and make Medicaid more sustainable. It is a bold undertaking in an industry already changing after the passage of the Affordable Care Act. One thing remains constant - Arkansas wants to be ahead of the curve in solving the health-care issues all states face.
As the only state in the nation taking this kind of approach, we have the chance to blaze a trail for the rest of the country to follow. Most Americans agree that we must improve the quality and accessibility of health care at lower costs. As the national debate continues about how best to accomplish that goal, Arkansas will not simply wait and see what happens next. We are working to be an example of the common-sense investments in health care that are so critically needed for our future.
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Beaches, boat ramps remain open at Lake Shelbyville
SHELBYVILLE While the water levels at Lake Shelbyville are below a normal summer level, beaches and boat ramps at the lake remain open.
The lake level was 598.31 feet above sea level on Friday, which is 1.39 feet below normal, according to Doug Vogel, interpretive services and outreach ranger for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
Vogel said all beaches and boat ramps along with other recreation areas at Lake Shelbyville are open over the Labor Day weekend, but he said there may be sand bars and tree stumps not visible when the water is low. People are asked to watch for shallow areas.
The lake's beaches are expected to close for the season after Labor Day.
For more information, call the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Lake Shelbyville Project Office at 217-774-3951.
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Beaches trash Duval County tipping fees
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Jacksonville should not expect a million dollar fee from Neptune and Atlantic Beaches anytime soon.
Leaders with both communities sent a letter to Mayor Alvin Brown and city council president Bill Bishop detailing that they will not pay tipping fees for hauling trash to the county landfill.
COJ officials say they are owed a $1.4 million in combined fees over two years for dumbing garbage in Trail Ridge Landfill.
A team of consultants advised the mayorsthe coastalcommunities on the matter.
The letter states, "based on a review of said information and the language and terms of the Interlocal Agreement, it is the position of both Neptune Beach and Atlantic Beach that "tipping fees" may not be assessed by the City of Jacksonville for the Fiscal Years of 2011-2012 or 2012-2013. We remain open to any comments or suggestions you or your staff may have."
The fee fight dates back to last year when Jacksonville City Council members approved the measure.
Councilman Stephen Joost told Action News earlier this month that the coastal communities need to pay up. "They're in tight budget times and we're in tight budget times. They want us to cut our budget all the way, they need to cut theirs too."
Atlantic Beach commissioner Maria Mark says Jacksonville blindsided the beaches with these fees.
"Even if we have to pay this tipping fee to Jacksonville, I don't know if that's going to solve those other budget problems that they have. Certain funds are restricted through certain uses," said Mark.
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‘Best beaches’ abound on tiny isle of Maui
In a nation of more than 300 million, a small county in the Pacific Ocean thats home to just over 155,000 people has nearly a quarter of the countrys best beaches.
Maui is called The Valley Island, but in most travelers minds, its beaches are synonymous with the Hawaiian island. In the annual Best Beach contest held since 1991, Maui has won four times five, if you want to stretch the definition of Maui. Maui County includes the islands of Molokai and Lanai. A beach on Lanai was the winner in 1997.
And Maui isnt done. A remote beach in an area once favored by Oprah Winfrey made this years Top 10 and is likely to win the top spot eventually.
Its not all good news for Mauis famous beaches. A U.S. Geological Survey report says Maui has the highest rate of beach erosion in the state. Data from 1899 to 2007 shows Maui beaches averaged 6.7 inches of sand lost each year. The worst impact is on the north shore near Paia. Erosion rates are somewhat higher in the Kaanapali area than in Kihei or Wailea.
As to the rankings, Ive criticized the methodology of the contest put out each spring by Dr. Beach, Stephen Leatherman, a Florida oceanography professor. He has a big East Coast bias. But we cant argue with his favorites in Maui. Here are the big five, along with the next champion in waiting. The year the beach won the contest is in parentheses.
D.T. Fleming Beach Park, Maui (2006): Ive taken my share of knocks at this great bodysurfing beach on the sometimes turbulent northwest shore of Maui. When youre feeling a bit winded from battling the waves, there are shade trees along parts of the mile-long strand. When you are ready to call it a day, head uphill to the bar at the Ritz-Carlton for some sundowner drinks and pupus.
Kaanapali, Maui (2003): The busiest beach on this list, its fronted by a string of hotels from the Sheraton on the north to the Hyatt on the south and the Whalers Village shopping mall in the middle. With all the fancy resort swimming pools, guests sometimes that forget a world-class beach is just on the other side of the walkway. Theres usually gentle surf and knockout views out toward Lanai. My favorite spot is Black Rock at the north end of the beach, with its excellent snorkeling and the crazies jumping off the rock.
Wailea Beach, Maui (1999): Wider, hotter and less crowded than Kaanapali to the north, Wailea is also fronted by luxury hotels and rocks in portions, but wide sands in other areas. The drop-off is gradual here, making it good for kids if the waves arent up. The view here is also outstanding, with views toward the tiny Molokini crater dive spot and the island of Kahoolawe, once used for Navy target practice.
Kapalua Bay Beach, Maui (1991): The first best beach on Leathermans list is still one of the islands prettiest, though in the intervening decades, development has taken over the slope just above the beach, replacing palm trees and greenery with hotel and condo units. The beach is still a beautiful crescent of blond-colored sand fronting aquamarine waters.
Hulopoe, Lanai (1997): Lanai is officially part of Maui County, governed from the Maui town of Wailuku. If you want to get political, it could be included in Mauis best beach count. Theres actually a geological basis for inclusion with the other beaches. Lanai and Molokai were once part of Maui Nui, the massive, ancient volcanic island that collapsed into the sea millions of years ago. Hulopoe is the best beach in the Hawaiian islands that barely anyone gets to. Its next to the Four Seasons Manele Bay on the former pineapple plantation island. There are trees for shade and a nice mix of tourists and locals.
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Cork beaches reopen as E.coli reaches safe levels
By Sean ORiordan
Saturday, August 25, 2012
Seven beaches in Co Cork have reopened after the latest test results showed a significant fall in E.coli levels.
Meanwhile, bathers in Galway were waiting for further tests at Grattan Beach, near Mutton Island, which was closed earlier this week because of excessive E.coli bacteria.
The decision to reopen the Cork beaches was taken yesterday after the county council published another batch of test results the second within 24 hours.
Last week, Youghals Front Strand, Claycastle, and Redbarn beaches were closed because tests showed levels of E.coli in bathing water breached EU limits of 2,000 particles of E.coli in 100ml of water.
Beaches at Garryvoe, Garretstown, Oysterhaven, and Coolmaine were also shut.
Oysterhaven had over six times the permitted level of the bacteria at 12,033, while Fort Strand was nearly four times over the limit.
Tests at Oysterhaven on Monday, and published on Thursday, showed a fall to 175 and a test there on Wednesday, published yesterday, showed a fall to 75.
Similar significant decre-ases were recorded at the other affected beaches.
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Experts: Several Naples-area beaches at risk of severe erosion from Isaac
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NAPLES Southwest Florida beaches left battered by a tropical storm earlier this summer are set for another lashing from Tropical Storm Isaac.
Isaac, on a track that could send it just west of Southwest Florida or right over it, could further erode beaches already in need of renourishment and could wash out what's left of a successful sea turtle nesting season.
"I have no clue what to expect from this," said Maura Kraus, manager of the sea turtle monitoring program for Collier County. "We are just hoping for the best."
In June, Tropical Storm Debby plowed through the Gulf of Mexico on its way to a landfall in the Florida Panhandle. Along the way, the storm hammered Southwest Florida beaches for three days.
Almost 600 sea turtle nests, each with as many as 100 eggs, were flooded or washed away from Collier beaches in Debby. Fewer than 500 nests are left on the beach, Kraus said, and more are hatching every day. More than 1,200 sea turtle nests were laid on Collier beaches this year compared to 751 last summer, according to county figures.
In south Lee County, monitors have counted 129 sea turtle nests, 43 of which already have hatched. Another 20 nests have been lost, according to the nonprofit Turtle Time.
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Experts: Several Naples-area beaches at risk of severe erosion from Isaac
'Squishy' model shows cell biology
The soft and transparent protein models will enable researchers to quickly and collaboratively see, touch, and test ideas about molecular interactions and the behavior of proteins. Credit: Masaru Kawakami/Review of Scientific Instruments
Published: Aug. 24, 2012 at 4:55 PM
WASHINGTON, Aug. 24 (UPI) -- A new soft, transparent and squishy silicone model could offer biology researches hands-on help to learn the secrets of molecules, its Japanese developer said.
Created by Masaru Kawakami a biophysicist researcher at the Japan Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, it is mostly transparent and easy to manipulate, intended to help researchers more intuitively understand protein structures, positions, and interactions.
The model, described in the American Institute of Physics journal Review of Scientific Instruments, will enable researchers to quickly and collaboratively see, touch and test ideas about molecular interactions and the behavior of proteins, Kawakami said.
"Because my new model is soft, users can deform the model and experience ligand binding or protein-protein association, which has never been possible with other physical molecule models," he said.
"I believe my model would be an effective discussion tool for the classroom or laboratory to stimulate inspired learning."
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'Squishy' model shows cell biology
082412b rel ARB
The Neumann Spirituality Group will be starting a new year of day retreat programs with "The Trinity, A Dance of Love," 9:30 a.m. Sept. 12.
Sister Beth Butler, a Missionary Servant of the Most Blessed Trinity, will be the presenter. She is a member of the retreat team at Mother Boniface Spirituality Center in northeast Philadelphia. Participants will ponder the meaning of the mystery and explore the place and the power of the Trinity in everyday life.
Nativity of Our Lord Church, 625 W. Street Road, Warminster, provides the location for the programs, but does not sponsor them. The Neumann Spirituality Group is responsible for arranging speakers and organizing the events. The program will take place from 10 a.m.-2 p.m., following a continental breakfast. Bring your own lunch. Drinks and dessert will be supplied. Cost is $15. Reservations are not required. The facility is accessible to all. Information: 215-822-8728 or 215-675-7835.
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Your Chance To See The International Space Station From Rochester
If your interested in seeing the International Space Station (ISS) youll have opportunities before midnight Friday and several more chances through the weekend.
WNY weather will cooperate with high pressure in firm control, we expect mainly clear skies.
The first opportunity to see the space station will be around 8:52pm Friday night.
The station will appear in the northwest sky and move toward the southeast. The total duration of viewing is around 4 minutes. The station is easily viewable, even in bright artificial light near the city.
The second opportunity tonight will be around 10:28pm. This sighting will last less than 1 minute and will also be very close to the horizon. Youll need a wide open field for this viewing. Look west to southwest for the second chance.
Click on the link here for additional viewing times on Saturday and Sunday.
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Your Chance To See The International Space Station From Rochester
Is a 1-Year Space Station Mission in the Works?
A Russian report this week claimed that an American and a Russian will launch on a one-year trip to the International Space Station in 2015. But NASA says the endurance space mission is just an idea, for now.
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Multiple Dinosaur Tracks Confirmed at NASA Center
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Fossilized nodosaur footprints discovered at NASAs Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland. (NASA/GSFC/Rebecca Roth)
At NASAs Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, MD, where some of the worlds most advanced research in space technology is being performed on a daily basis, paleontologists have discovered ancient evidence of dinosaurs on the Centers wooded campus at least two, possibly a mother and child, crossed that way between 112 and 110 million years ago and left their muddy footprints as proof.
The tracks of two nodosaurs short, stocky and heavily-armored herbivorous dinosaurs have been confirmed by dinosaur trackerRay Stanford and USGSemeritus paleontologistDr. Robert Weems. The second track is a smaller version of the first.
The first, larger footprint was announced by Stanford on August 17. When Dr. Weems was called in to verify, the smaller print was discovered within the first, evidence that they were made around the same time and leading researchers to suggest it may have been a mother-and-child pair.
Dinosaur tracker Ray Stanford describes the cretaceous-era nodosaur track he found on the Goddard Space Flight Center campus with Dr. Robert Weems, emeritus paleontologist for the USGS who verified his discovery. (NASA/GSFC/Rebecca Roth)
It looks to be a manus (front foot) print of a much smaller dinosaur than the first one, but it looks to be the same type, Weems said of the second track. If the one that came through was a female, it may have had one or more young ones following along. If youve seen a dog or cat walking with its young, they kind of sniff around and may not go in the same direction, but they end up in the same place.
Its thought that the nodosaurs were moving quickly since the tracks dont show strong imprints of the animals heels. Still, the ruddy Cretaceous-era mud preserved their brief passage well even as millions of years went by.
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SpaceX Dragon cleared for cargo run in October
The age of commercial space flight starts this autumn. In October, SpaceX ’s Dragon space freighter will make its first scheduled commercial visit to the International Space Station (ISS). On Thursday, NASA Administrator Charles Bolden announced at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida that Dragon had completed its certification under the Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) program ...
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