Monthly Archives: September 2012

Mafia Medicine: Jordana Spiro, Josh Berman Weigh In on The Mob Doctor

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Jordana Spiro

"What would have happened if Meadow Soprano had gone on to medical school and become a doctor?" That's the question writer-producer Josh Berman said he found himself wondering when Jamie-Lynn Sigler (who played Tony Soprano's brainy daughter on The Sopranos) guest-starred on his show Drop Dead Diva.

Fall Preview: Get scoop on all of this season's new shows

Thus was planted the seed for The Mob Doctor, Berman's new series that stars Jordana Spiro as Dr. Grace Devlin, a surgeon who tries to balance her professional career with a secret side job: providing medical services for the Chicago Mafia in order to pay off a debt owed by her brother (Jesse Lee Soffer).

Berman says that after Sigler's appearance on Drop Dead Diva, he and co-producer Rob Wright started researching real-life Mob doctors. "We were shocked," he said. "It is the underbelly of organized crime their medical fixers, so to speak. So when we found out that this actually did exist, it became even more compelling and that's the point we decided, 'We have to write this.'"

See Mob Doctor's Jordana Spiro and more fall stars to watch

Inspired by one nonfiction account in particular, Ron Felber's Il Dottore: The Double Life of a Mafia Doctor, Wright and Berman started developing the character of Grace. Berman says the series will balance the medical drama with Grace's personal life story lines bookended by her relationships with her boyfriend/colleague (Zach Gilford) and former Mafia boss/family friend Constantine (William Forsythe).

"We have some episodes that take place predominantly in the hospital, and then some that take place predominantly in the field," Berman said. "I like to refer to those cases as the dirty medicine cases, because we get to tell stories without the bureaucracy of a hospital, and to me that's what's so compelling. ... When Grace is in the field, the only thing she needs to do is worry about the patient. And I think she takes that energy and that passion back into the hospital with her, which kind of gives her that 'I don't give a damn' attitude when it comes to placating her bosses. Instead, she puts her patients' interests first."

Spiro, who previously starred in TBS' comedy My Boys, said she was drawn to the role due to the moral dilemmas Grace faces as she tries to extract herself from the Mafia life. (Her father was a minor player in the Mob.) In the pilot episode, for instance, Grace receives a message to kill a patient, an informant who's brought into her hospital."This woman is making choices that are very morally conflicted and yet, at the beginning, it's to save her family," Spiro says. "And so this question becomes, 'How far do you go, and where is that line that you absolutely won't cross? And what happens when that line keeps edging further and further away?'"

The Mob Doctor's antihero will cross the line

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Mafia Medicine: Jordana Spiro, Josh Berman Weigh In on The Mob Doctor

Women face cultural barriers in academic medicine

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Although men and women working in academic medicine strive toward advancement, significantly fewer women achieve leadership positions, says a study in the Journal of General Internal Medicine.

For the past decade, women have made up about 50% of medical students, according to the Assn. of American Medical Colleges. Meanwhile, the average medical school has 43 female full professors compared with 192 male full professors, said Linda Pololi, MD, lead study author and senior scientist at the Womens Studies Research Center at Brandeis University in Massachusetts.

Those numbers are still absolutely shocking, and without a good explanation, she said.

To gain insight into the cultural barriers women face in academic medicine, researchers surveyed 4,578 full-time faculty at 26 U.S. medical schools. They found that women reported a lower sense of belonging and support and were more pessimistic about gender equity and their chances for advancement compared with men. Women also were less likely to believe that their institutions were family-friendly or to see their values as aligning with the institutions.

The average medical school has 43 female full professors and 192 male full professors.

The findings, published online Aug. 31, demonstrate that medical schools have failed to create an environment where women feel fully accepted and supported to succeed, said Dr. Pololi, director and principal investigator of the National Initiative on Gender, Culture and Leadership in Medicine, also known as C-Change, which engages medical schools in research aimed at attaining equality in academic medicine.

The study proves wrong the notion that women are less ambitious than men. It shows that both genders have equal leadership aspirations and are equally engaged in their work, she said.

Women care very deeply about having a rich professional life, Dr. Pololi said.

The findings are not surprising and reinforce previous research, said Page S. Morahan, PhD, founding director and director of research at the Hedwig van Ameringen Executive Leadership in Academic Medicine Program for Women at Drexel University College of Medicine in Philadelphia.

We have seen this over and over again, she said.

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Federal appeals court to hear challenge to California DNA collection law

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SAN FRANCISCO -- On a March day three years ago in San Francisco's Civic Center Plaza, Elizabeth "Lily" Haskell was arrested during a rally against the Iraq war, cuffed on a felony allegation that she tried to spring another protester who had been taken into custody.

But once hauled off to jail, Haskell found herself in the legal crosshairs for more than just civic rabble-rousing. Sheriff's deputies ordered her to submit to DNA testing under a then-new provision of California law, giving her the choice of letting them swab the inside of her cheek or face an additional misdemeanor charge and sit in a jail cell for two days.

Haskell relented and took the DNA test. But now the Oakland woman is at the center of an American Civil Liberties Union legal challenge to a state law that allows law enforcement to collect DNA samples from anyone arrested for a felony, regardless of whether they are later charged or convicted. In Haskell's case, prosecutors never followed up the 2009 arrest with a criminal charge.

"My DNA was taken without any kind of due process," Haskell said last week. "I believe people should have the right to refuse to give their DNA."

On Wednesday, a special 11-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals will hear arguments in the latest round in the case, which has highlighted a legal issue that appears bound for the U.S. Supreme Court. In fact, in a brief order earlier this year, Chief Justice John Roberts said

At the request of civil liberties lawyers, the 9th Circuit agreed to take a second look at the Haskell case after a three-judge panel, in a 2-1 ruling, earlier this year upheld a voter-approved 2004 California law allowing DNA collection. The 9th Circuit rejected arguments that the law, which went into effect in 2009, tramples on the constitutional rights of those arrested for felonies, saying "government's compelling interests far outweigh arrestees' privacy concerns."

In court papers, lawyers for Haskell and others arrested but never charged with felonies argue that the California law "is an unprecedented expansion of the government's power to collect DNA evidence and to DNA profile individuals who have never been convicted of any crime."

To the ACLU, there is no reason someone's DNA should wind up in the state's DNA database if the person has never appeared in court, much less in front of a jury.

"People who haven't been convicted of anything shouldn't be treated like criminals," ACLU attorney Michael Risher said.

Law enforcement officials argue that the DNA collection law is a crucial tool in solving crimes. They liken taking a DNA swab at the time of arrest to fingerprinting.

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Federal appeals court to hear challenge to California DNA collection law

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Lack of DNA database is a national disgrace

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The Irish Times - Monday, September 17, 2012

MATTHEW HOLMES

LEGAL OPINION: This legislation will strengthen the ability of the Garda to detect and prevent crime and, in particular, to snare repeat offenders

A DNA DATABASE is one of the most effective crime-fighting tools ever devised. Thanks to DNA databases, crimes that were previously unsolvable are now being solved and miscarriages of justice are being corrected.

Such databases save valuable time in investigations by quickly eliminating suspects or pinning them to a crime scene. They are particularly effective in sex crimes and in catching repeat offenders such as burglars. They also have uses beyond the criminal sphere in terms of identifying bodies and helping to locate missing persons. In February 2000, the then government announced a plan to establish a DNA database in Ireland. More than a decade has passed and this has still not been done. The lack of relevant legislation is hampering criminal investigations.

To date, three Bills have been drafted which seek to establish a DNA database in Ireland the Criminal Justice (Forensic Sampling and Evidence) Bill 2007, the Criminal Justice (Forensic Evidence and DNA Database System) Bill 2010 and the Criminal Justice (Forensic Evidence and DNA Database System) Bill, currently before the Dil.

The first had to be dropped after the decision of the European Court of Human Rights in Marper v the United Kingdom, which led to European-level change in the law on DNA databases; the second lapsed following the change of government last year. In April 2011, Minister for Justice Alan Shatter told a conference of Garda sergeants and inspectors he hoped to publish a new Bill before the end of that year and to progress its speedy enactment. This was postponed to the middle of this year and it has been pushed back again to the end of the year.

There is currently an ad-hoc Irish DNA database which contains a representative sample of DNA profiles from 300 Irish citizens. To put this in context, the British database contained the profiles of 3.1 million people at the end of 2005. Clearly the scope for accuracy and effectiveness of results is exponentially higher in their system than in ours. In the UK, using the database has resulted in a 50 per cent hit rate. One in two samples on the databanks result in information regarding suspects being provided to the police. At one stage the hit rate was 74 per cent.

When he was in opposition, Mr Shatter said it was almost beyond belief that more than a decade had passed and this important legislation had still not been passed. Speaking in January 2011, he said: It is completely outrageous important issue hasnt been prioritised, and extraordinary lethargy has been displayed; the legislation is on the back burner. If there was any sense of urgency about it, this legislation would have been implemented last Easter considering it was published last January.

Over a year has passed since Mr Shatter became Minister for Justice, and legislation has yet to be enacted.

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Lack of DNA database is a national disgrace

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Missing DNA evidence in Assange case

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Forensic experts have failed to find crucial DNA evidence in the sexual assault case against Julian Assange, a British newspaper reports.

In a 100-page document shown to lawyers for the Australian WikiLeaks founder, Swedish police outlined their basis for seeking the 41-year-old's extradition to Stockholm to face questioning.

The report said staff at two forensic laboratories were unable to find conclusive evidence of Mr Assange's DNA on a torn condom provided by one of two women who claim to have been assaulted in August 2010.

However, the same analysts have found DNA believed to belong to Mr Assange on a condom provided by a second woman, The Mail on Sunday reported.

Mr Assange denies any wrongdoing and says sex with the two women was consensual.

He remains holed up in London's Ecuadorian embassy in a bid to avoid Swedish extradition, which he insists would lead to him being handed to authorities in the United States, where the actions of his secret-leaking website are under investigation.

The Swedish police report said that one woman, now aged 33, claims she was repeatedly molested by Mr Assange at her flat in Stockholm, adding on one occasion he deliberately broke a condom before wearing it to have unprotected sex with her against her will.

Scientists were unable to find traces of Mr Assange's DNA on the condom and his lawyers suggest that is because a fake one may have been submitted, the tabloid reports.

Mr Assange, who has been granted asylum by Ecuador, is yet to be formally charged with any offence by Swedish authorities.

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Missing DNA evidence in Assange case

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DNA evidence missing in Assange case

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Forensic experts have failed to find crucial DNA evidence in the sexual assault case against Julian Assange, a British newspaper reports.

In a 100-page document shown to lawyers for the Australian WikiLeaks founder, Swedish police outlined their basis for seeking the 41-year-old's extradition to Stockholm to face questioning.

The report said staff at two forensic laboratories were unable to find conclusive evidence of Mr Assange's DNA on a torn condom provided by one of two women who claim to have been assaulted in August 2010.

However, the same analysts have found DNA believed to belong to Mr Assange on a condom provided by a second woman, The Mail on Sunday reported.

Mr Assange denies any wrongdoing and says sex with the two women was consensual.

He remains holed up in London's Ecuadorian embassy in a bid to avoid Swedish extradition, which he insists would lead to him being handed to authorities in the United States, where the actions of his secret-leaking website are under investigation.

The Swedish police report said that one woman, now aged 33, claims she was repeatedly molested by Mr Assange at her flat in Stockholm, adding on one occasion he deliberately broke a condom before wearing it to have unprotected sex with her against her will.

Scientists were unable to find traces of Mr Assange's DNA on the condom and his lawyers suggest that is because a fake one may have been submitted, the tabloid reports.

Mr Assange, who has been granted asylum by Ecuador, is yet to be formally charged with any offence by Swedish authorities.

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DNA evidence missing in Assange case

Posted in DNA

DNA research key for Irish agriculture

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The Irish Times - Monday, September 17, 2012

INNOVATION PROFILE:Teagascs Animal Bioscience facility, Grange, Co Meath

TEAGASCS NEWLY opened Animal Bioscience Facility in Grange, Co Meath, will use the latest DNA-based approaches to assist Irish farmers produce better quality and healthier livestock and ultimately improve Irish food production.

The publication of the genome sequence for cattle in 2009 has opened up the possibility to use these approaches to study commercially important traits. These include milk and meat production, immunity and disease, nutrition and reproduction, explains Teagasc director Prof Gerry Boyle.

The new facility was developed as part of the Teagasc vision programme which was initiated in 2006 with the objective of establishing centres of excellence in the key sciences that underpin Irish agriculture. Animal bioscience is a key component of the organisations Animal and Grassland, Research and Innovation Programme which integrates applied and strategic research across the main livestock species in Ireland namely dairy cattle, beef cattle and sheep.

The Animal and Bioscience Department carries out research in the areas of animal breeding and genomics, animal health and welfare, infection and disease, computational and systems biology, fertility and reproduction, feed efficiency and product quality. The new technologies being developed have the potential to accelerate the rate of gain in efficiency and quality.

Using the new areas of science such as genomics, proteomics, and systems biology, we are seeking to develop tools to more accurately identify the most profitable animals for current and future production systems, says Dr Richard Dewhurst, head of the Teagasc animal and bioscience department.

We are developing the optimal breeding programmes to maximise genetic gain in the long term. Our main research activities include the development of multi-breed genetic and genomic evaluations, breeding objectives and breeding programmes for dairy cattle, beef cattle and sheep. We also aim to identify genes, pathways and biological processes mediating resistance to infectious diseases in cattle and sheep and how these genes interact with pathogens and the environment.

While we are not quite at the stage of designer animals the use of these new DNA techniques could have a dramatic impact on Irish agriculture. If we take the DNA sequence of a bull, for example, we can use that to more accurately predict the characteristics that will be passed on to his progeny, Dewhurst explains. And the rate at which we can get the information is accelerating so we will soon be able to get the DNA sequence for individual animals. Its all about analysing the data and relating it to the traits we want to predict.

This highly scientific data led approach is a revolution in terms of the practices which obtained just 25 years ago. Over the past 25 years genetics has become much more statistics-based, before that it was an art, says Dewhurst. We have been using statistical models to predict traits in animals for the past while but now with the genome we will be able to identify good quality animals with the desired traits even before they reach maturity.

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Posted in DNA

Chemists develop reversible method of tagging proteins

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ScienceDaily (Sep. 16, 2012) Chemists at UC San Diego have developed a method that for the first time provides scientists the ability to attach chemical probes onto proteins and subsequently remove them in a repeatable cycle.

Their achievement, detailed in a paper that appears online this week in the journal Nature Methods, will allow researchers to better understand the biochemistry of naturally formed proteins in order to create better antibiotics, anti-cancer drugs, biofuels, food crops and other natural products. It will also provide scientists with a new laboratory tool they can use to purify and track proteins in living cells.

The development was the culmination of a 10 year effort by researchers in the laboratory of Michael Burkart, a professor of chemistry and biochemistry, to establish a method to both attach a chemical probe at a specific location on a protein and selectively remove it. This flexibility allows researchers to study the protein with many different functional attachments, providing versatility akin to a biochemical Swiss Army knife. The great advantage of this technique is the broad flexibility of the attachments, which can be dyes, purification agents or mimics of natural metabolic products. Each of these attachments can be used for different purposes and biological studies.

Burkart's goal in his own laboratory is to understand more about the biochemical pathways of fatty acid metabolism and the biosynthesis of other natural products. One project focuses on engineering algae in order to produce improved biofuels. In this effort, the scientists hope to maximize the production of high quality algae oils, which could be used to supplement or supplant existing fossil fuels.

"In fatty acid metabolism, the fatty acids grow from an arm that eventually curls around and starts interacting with the metabolic protein," said Burkart, who is also associate director of the San Diego Center for Algae Biotechnology, or SD-CAB, a consortium of institutions in the San Diego region working together to make biofuels from algae commercially viable as transportation fuels. "What we wanted to know was how long does the growing fatty acid get before it starts binding with the protein?"

Burkart and chemists in his laboratory -- Nicolas Kosa, Robert Haushalter and Andrew Smith -- found a way to remove the chemical probe from this metabolic protein using an enzyme called a phosphodiesterase derived from the common bacterium Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Subsequent reattachment of a fatty acid analogue reconstituted the protein complex to its natural state. By repeating the process again and again, while examining the molecular changes in the fatty acid with nuclear magnetic spectroscopy, or NMR, during different metabolic stages, the scientists were able to detail the biochemical pathway of the fatty acid metabolism in a way they had never been able to do before.

"Without this tool, we would really have very limited ways of studying the dynamics of these fundamental metabolic processes," Burkart said. "This opened the door for us to finally examine in detail the fatty acid biosynthesis shared by algae, which you have to understand if you want to engineer ways to improve the quantity of oil that's made by algae or to make different types of oil molecules in algae that are better for biofuels."

The UC San Diego chemists also used NMR to verify that the process of chemically removing and attaching the chemical probes does not degrade or alter the protein in any way. "We've shown that we can do this iteratively, at least four or five times, without any degradation of the protein," said Burkart. "The protein remains very stable and can be studied very easily."

Because these same metabolic processes are shared by the metabolism of many natural products, including anti-cancer agents, antibiotics, and natural insecticides, Burkart said this new tool should have wide application in natural product chemistry labs.

"These are fundamental biochemical pathways that we still don't fully understand," he said. "We're now learning how these basic biosynthetic enzymes work. A large majority of drugs are derived from natural products and many future medicines can result from these pathways. There's a great interest now in synthetic biology, using these pathways to make new antibiotics or new anti-cancer drugs. They're all regulated by these same types of interactions."

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Regenerative Medicine Gets A Boost With Quick Printing Of 3D Microstructures

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September 16, 2012

Image Caption: NanoEngineering Professor Shaochen Chen has demonstrated the capability of printing three-dimensional blood vessels in mere seconds out of soft, biocompatible hydrogels. Being able to print blood vessels is essential to achieving the promise of regenerative medicine because it is how the body distributes oxygen and nutrients. Image Credit: Biomedical Nanotechnology Laboratory, Chen Research Group, UC San Diego Jacobs School of Engineering.

April Flowers for redOrbit.com Your Universe Online

Nanoengineers at the University of California, San Diego have created a new technology that has far-reaching implications for regenerative medicine. The results of the project have been reported in Advanced Materials.

The team has been able to fabricate, in seconds, microscale three-dimensional (3D) structures out of soft biocompatible hydrogels. This could lead to better systems for growing and studying cells, including stem cells, in the laboratory. In the long-term, the goal is to be able to print biological tissues for regenerative medicine. For example, repairing the damage caused by a heart attack by replacing it with tissue from a printer.

Professor Shaochen Chen developed this new biofabrication technology, called dynamic optical projection stereolithography (DOPsL). Current fabrication techniques, such as photolithography and micro-contact printing, are limited to generating simple geometries or 2D patterns. Stereolithography is best known for its ability to print large objects such as tools and car parts.

The difference between earlier stereolithography and DOPsL, Chen says, is in the micro- and nanoscale resolution required to print tissues that mimic natures fine-grained details, including blood vessels, which are essential for distributing nutrients and oxygen throughout the body. Without the ability to print vasculature, an engineered liver or kidney, for example, is useless in regenerative medicine. With DOPsL, Chens team was able to achieve more complex geometries common in nature such as flowers, spirals and hemispheres. Other current 3D fabrication techniques, such as two-photon photopolymerization, can take hours to fabricate a 3D part.

The system uses a computer projection system and precisely controlled micromirrors to shine light on a selected area of a solution containing photo-sensitive biopolymers and cells. This begins the solidification process, which forms one layer of solid structure at a time, but in a continuous fashion. The Obama administration in March launched a $1 billion investment in advanced manufacturing technologies, including creating the National Additive Manufacturing Innovation Institute with $30 million in federal funding to focus on 3D printing. The term additive manufacturing refers to the way 3D structures are built layering very thin materials.

The development of this new technology is part of a grant that Chen received from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Chens research group focuses on fabrication of nanostructured biomaterials and nanophotonics for biomedical engineering.

Source: April Flowers for redOrbit.com - Your Universe Online

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Regenerative Medicine Gets A Boost With Quick Printing Of 3D Microstructures

Liberty High School's Devin Street and Jarrod West catch touchdown passes

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Compiled by Josh Blake

WR Devin Street of Liberty High School had 4 receptions for 73 yards and a touchdown for Pitt in a 35-17 win over Virginia Tech. DB Jarred Holley (Easton) had 6 tackles and an interception for the Panthers.

WR Jarrod West (Liberty) caught 3 passes for 58 yards and a go-ahead touchdown for Syracuse in a 28-17 win over Stony Brook. RB Andre Williams (Parkland) rushed 4 times for 7 yards for Boston College in a 22-13 loss to Northwestern.

TE Kevin Haplea (North Hunterdon) played but had no stats for Florida State in a 52-0 win over Wake Forest.

TE Matt Furstenberg (Hunterdon Central) made a tackle for Maryland in a 24-21 loss to UConn. LB Brendan Beal (Liberty) played but recorded no stats for Minnesota in a 28-23 win over Western Michigan.

LB Erik Wachter (Hunterdon Central) had 3 tackles for Holy Cross in a 24-21 loss to Brown.

LB Billy Boyko (Northampton) made 4 tackles for Lehigh in a 17-14 win over Princeton. WR Josh Parris (Palisades) had a 31-yard reception. LS Kyle Lechner (Delaware Valley) made a tackle. LB Matt Laub (Parkland) played but had no stats for the Mountain Hawks.

Garrett Williamson (Hunterdon Central) started at center for Maine in a 51-7 win over Bryant.

WR Joey Orlando (Liberty) caught 5 passes for 36 yards for New Hampshire in a 43-10 win over Central Connecticut State. Mike Coccia (Freedom) started at center, DE Danny Riley (Northampton) had 2 tackles and LB Shane McNeely (Central Catholic) made a tackle for the Wildcats.

Chaz Houston (Wyoming Seminary) started on the offensive line for Saint Francis (Pa.) in a 57-23 win over Morehead State.

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Liberty High School's Devin Street and Jarrod West catch touchdown passes

Liberty rally for 75-68 win over Mystics

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WASHINGTON (AP) -- Cappie Pondexter had 30 points and 11 rebounds as the New York Liberty rallied from a nine-point deficit in the fourth quarter to beat the Washington Mystics 75-68 Sunday.

Nicole Powell scored 10 of her 18 points in the fourth and Essence Carson added 15 points as New York (14-17) won its third straight. The Liberty began the day with a one-game lead over Chicago for the fourth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. The Sky play at Phoenix later.

Jasmine Thomas scored 16 points and Monique Currie had 12 to lead the Washington (5-27), which has lost 11 straight.

Powell's 3-pointer tied the score at 63 with 2:50 left and her short jumper gave the Liberty a 67-65 lead with 1:34 to play.

After a miss by Currie, Kara Braxton scored on a layup off a nice pass from Pondexter to make it 69-65 with 48 seconds left.

Matee Ajavon missed a short jumper and Pondexter hit two three throws. Thomas's 3-pointer made it 71-68 with 19 seconds to go, but the Mystics got no closer.

Washington outscored New York 19-12 in the third quarter and built a five-point lead as the Liberty hit just 5-of-22 field goals.

Washington played without leading scorer Crystal Langhorne (14.7 ppg), who left Friday's loss to Atlanta with a left foot sprain, and Noelle Quinn (6.5 ppg), out with an injured right shoulder.

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Liberty rally for 75-68 win over Mystics

Falkland Islands census shows fewer than a third of people identify as British

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Population survey reveals disputed islands' population has not grown since 2006 – and some residents are getting worried A census in the Falkland Islands has found that fewer than a third of people consider themselves British, while 59% say their national identity is "Falkland Islander". The survey also puts the average annual income at $32,213 (£20,000) – much higher than Argentina's $9,620 as ...

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Falkland Islands census shows fewer than a third of people identify as British

Judge: Mississippi health care challenge premature

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Police: Woman attacked while delivering pizzas in Pascagoula Police: Woman attacked while delivering pizzas in Pascagoula

Updated: Saturday, September 15 2012 3:25 PM EDT2012-09-15 19:25:55 GMT

Updated: Saturday, September 15 2012 5:00 PM EDT2012-09-15 21:00:18 GMT

Updated: Friday, September 14 2012 6:48 PM EDT2012-09-14 22:48:15 GMT

Updated: Saturday, September 15 2012 9:39 PM EDT2012-09-16 01:39:02 GMT

Updated: Friday, September 14 2012 6:54 AM EDT2012-09-14 10:54:15 GMT

JACKSON, MS (AP) - A federal judge says Gov. Phil Bryant and other Mississippi residents were premature in their challenge to the federal law requiring people to buy health care insurance. The Hattiesburg American reports that District Judge Keith Starrett also reaffirmed his ruling that knocked the governor and another man out as plaintiffs. He says both have health insurance, and wouldn't be affected by the law unless they dropped that insurance. In an order signed Aug. 23, he says two remaining plaintiffs' privacy claims would have to be brought later, because rules involving disclosure and protection of personal information are still being worked out. Mississippi Sen. Chris McDaniel is an attorney for the plaintiffs. He says they either will appeal Starrett's ruling or refile the suit later. Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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NH health care forum to draw business leaders

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MANCHESTER, N.H. (AP) Hundreds of business leaders from around the region are expected at the fourth annual health care forum presented by New Hampshire Business Review and MVP Health Care on Oct. 2.

The forum is being held 7:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. at the Grappone Conference Center in Concord.

Dr. Aaron Carroll, director of the Center for Health Policy and Professionalism Research, will be the keynote speaker. He plans to offer an analysis of the Affordable Care Act and how it will impact the nation's economy and New Hampshire's business climate.

There also will be a panel discussion on legal and operational issues that will impact employers and employees, and on reform efforts that go beyond the ACA to curb spending, contain costs and reform the health care industry.

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NH health care forum to draw business leaders

S.A. health care providers each receive $100,000 grant

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The Hogg Foundation, an Austin-based philanthropy, has awarded $200,000 to the Center for Health Care Services in San Antonio and Community Health Centers of South Central Texas Inc. in Gonzales.

Each provider received $100,000. The grants will fund programs that integrate treatment for physical and mental health issues.

A growing body of evidence points toward the value of integrated care as a tool to improve the overall health of our bodies and our minds, said Dr. Octavio N. Martinez Jr., head of the foundation. By treating the whole body, we can advance the quality of care received in Texas.

The Center for Health Care Services will contract with Healthcare Access San Antonio for health information exchange services that will allow the clinic to share clinical information with other providers.

Community Health Centers of South Central Texas, in partnership with Bluebonnet Trails Community Services, will add a health care coordinator to its health care team.

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S.A. health care providers each receive $100,000 grant

Romney health plans would affect seniors’ care, studies find

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It has been a central campaign promise from Mitt Romney: His Medicare overhaul plan would not touch benefits for anyone older than 55.

That may not, however, be the case with the Republican presidential nominees other health-care proposals. A growing body of research suggests that his plans to repeal the Affordable Care Act and cut Medicaid funding would have a direct impact on the health care that seniors receive.

Repealing the health law would mean higher Medicare premiums, the Kaiser Family Foundation found in a recent analysis. Wellness visits and prescription drugs also would cost more. Although under the current law, reductions in doctor payments could create an access issue.

The impact could be greatest for the lowest-income seniors, who qualify for both the Medicare and Medicaid programs, and there could be a significant slowdown in federal funds available for their care.

The health-care law cuts $716billion in Medicare spending, largely by reducing how much insurers and health-care providers get paid to manage seniors care. Since Medicare beneficiaries pay a percentage of the programs overall budget, lower spending means lower premiums.

If the Medicare savings are repealed, and the benefit enhancements are repealed, theres a direct effect on seniors today, said Tricia Neuman, director of the Kaiser Family Foundations Medicare Policy Project.

Health and Human Services estimates that Medicare beneficiaries paid $94 less out-of-pocket for hospital and doctor coverage this year than they would have without the health-care law. That number will rise to $572 in 2021 as the Medicare cuts grow larger.

An expected slower rate of growth in Medicare spending leads to a slower rate of growth in beneficiary out-of-pocket payments, the February 2012 research brief concluded.

About 5percent of seniors would see some premiums increase, as the Affordable Care Act expands an income-related premium for anyone earning more than $85,000.

Overall, though, analysts say that out-of-pocket spending by seniors would increase if the Affordable Care Act is repealed. On average, spending for seniors would rise because their premiums would rise, Neuman said.

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Romney health plans would affect seniors’ care, studies find

Freedom Hold off Miners and Live to Play Another Day

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September 16, 2012 - Frontier League (FL) Florence Freedom Marion, IL-The Florence Freedom were on the brink of elimination Saturday night in the Frontier League Championship series but prevailed in game three with a 4-3 win over the Southern Illinois Miners.

The win extended the best of five series to game four Sunday night in Marion, Illinois. The Miners lead the Freedom two games to one.

The Freedom trailed 2-0 in the fourth when Drew Rundle recorded an RBI single and John Malloy produced a sacrifice fly to tie the game at 2-2.

With the Freedom trailing 3-2 in the fifth they rallied for two runs against Miner starter Cody Hall(1-1)to take the lead for good. David Harris drove an RBI double over center fielder Alvaro Ramirez's head and then Peter Fatse came through with a sacrifice fly to give the Freedom a 4-3 advantage.

Brad Allen(3-0) remained perfect as a starter for the Freedom this year. He worked six innings giving up eight hits on three earned runs while striking out three.

Andres Caceres pitched a scoreless seventh as Jorge Marban notched a two inning save. The Miners threatened in the ninth as they had runners on the corners with one out. Ramirez hit a grounder to shortstop Junior Arrojo who threw home to catcher Jim Jacquot. Jacquot applied the tag on Carlos Mendez trying to score the game tying run. Marban then got Jake Kaase to pop out to first baseman Drew Rundle to end the game.

Harris and Pierre LePage led the Freedom with two hits apiece.

The Freedom and Miners will play game four Sunday night at Rent One Park in Marion, Illinois. The starters are TBA for both teams. The game can be heard with Steve Jarnicki starting at 5:50 pm on Real Talk 1160 AM and realtalk1160.com.

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Freedom Hold off Miners and Live to Play Another Day