Monthly Archives: September 2013

NASA's black-hole-hunter catches its first 10 supermassive black holes

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Sep. 9, 2013 NASA's black-hole-hunter spacecraft, the Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array, or NuSTAR, has "bagged" its first 10 supermassive black holes. The mission, which has a mast the length of a school bus, is the first telescope capable of focusing the highest-energy X-ray light into detailed pictures.

The new black-hole finds are the first of hundreds expected from the mission over the next two years. These gargantuan structures -- black holes surrounded by thick disks of gas -- lie at the hearts of distant galaxies between 0.3 and 11.4 billion light-years from Earth.

"We found the black holes serendipitously," explained David Alexander, a NuSTAR team member based in the Department of Physics at Durham University in England and lead author of a new study appearing Aug. 20 in The Astrophysical Journal. "We were looking at known targets and spotted the black holes in the background of the images."

Additional serendipitous finds such as these are expected for the mission. Along with the mission's more targeted surveys of selected patches of sky, the NuSTAR team plans to comb through hundreds of images taken by the telescope with the goal of finding black holes caught in the background.

Once the 10 black holes were identified, the researchers went through previous data taken by NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory and the European Space Agency's XMM-Newton satellite, two complementary space telescopes that see lower-energy X-ray light. The scientists found that the objects had been detected before. It wasn't until the NuSTAR observations, however, that they stood out as exceptional, warranting closer inspection.

By combining observations taken across the range of the X-ray spectrum, the astronomers hope to crack unsolved mysteries of black holes. For example, how many of them populate the universe?

"We are getting closer to solving a mystery that began in 1962," said Alexander. "Back then, astronomers had noted a diffuse X-ray glow in the background of our sky but were unsure of its origin. Now, we know that distant supermassive black holes are sources of this light, but we need NuSTAR to help further detect and understand the black hole populations."

This X-ray glow, called the cosmic X-ray background, peaks at the high-energy frequencies that NuSTAR is designed to see, so the mission is key to identifying what's producing the light. NuSTAR can also find the most hidden supermassive black holes, buried by thick walls of gas.

"The highest-energy X-rays can pass right through even significant amounts of dust and gas surrounding the active supermassive black holes," said Fiona Harrison, a study co-author and the mission's principal investigator at the California Institute of Technology, Pasadena.

Data from NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, or WISE, and Spitzer missions also provide missing pieces in the puzzle of black holes by weighing the mass of their host galaxies.

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NASA's black-hole-hunter catches its first 10 supermassive black holes

American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene 62nd Annual Meeting Nov. 13-17, Washington DC

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Public release date: 10-Sep-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Bridget DeSimone bdesimone@burnesscommunications.com 301-280-5735 Burness Communications

The 62nd Annual Meeting of the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, the world's largest gathering of tropical medicine experts, will focus on research advances in the fight against diseases that threaten billions, including malaria in Africa and Asia, dengue in Central Florida, animal-borne diseases the world over and tick-borne ailments across America.

Researchers will present: new innovations to combat the global epidemic of counterfeit malaria drugs; advances in the fight against Lyme disease; new findings on tracking the alarming spread of dengue in the Americas; a genetically modified dietary supplement that can treat devastating worm diseases; updates on a promising new malaria vaccine; and new evidence showing how access to surgeries as simple as C-sections or hernia operations could save millions of lives in resource poor-countries.

WHAT: The American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene 62nd Annual Meeting

SPEAKERS: Peter Piot, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine Frank O. Richards, The Carter Center Nick Day, Wellcome Trust Thailand/Laos Major Overseas Program

WHEN: November 13-17, 2013 (Wednesday through Sunday)

WHERE: Marriott Wardman Park Hotel, Washington DC, USA

RSVP: For more information and to register for press credentials, please contact: Bridget DeSimone at +1 301 280 5735 or bdesimone@burnesscommunications.com

WEB: http://www.astmh.org/Home.htm On Twitter @ #TropMed2013

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American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene 62nd Annual Meeting Nov. 13-17, Washington DC

Have Your Say on the Future of Family Medicine

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As AAFP members, we all are aware of the many changes in health care that have occurred during the past decade. Thanks to the Future of Family Medicine (FFM) project, we have been prepared for many of these transformations, and, indeed, the AAFP has had a hand in promulgating the drive to put primary care and family physicians, in particular, at the foundation of the new health care system.

However, the work we did on the FFM project as part of the Family Medicine Working Party was done more than 10 years ago, and a lot has changed in health care in the United States since then.

That is why we need your help now. The Family Medicine Working Party once again is initiating a project to look at the future of family medicine, and we need you to contribute your thoughts on how family physicians can help make the health care system in the United States a strong, vibrant system based on primary care. What do our specialty and our practices need to be successful in this system? As you read through the following information on the project, we ask that you think about the past, present, and future of family medicine. Then we invite you to comment, either via the comments field at the end of this article or by sending us an e-mail so your voice can be heard.

In late August, the Family Medicine Working Party launched a follow-up initiative to the FFM project, which was conducted more than a decade ago. The goal of this effort -- Family Medicine for America's Health: Future of Family Medicine 2.0 -- is to examine the challenges and opportunities facing family medicine today and define a path forward in the context of a rapidly changing health care landscape.

Twelve years ago, the seven national family medicine organizations initiated the FFM project. The goal of the FFM project was to develop a strategy to transform and renew the discipline of family medicine to meet the needs of patients in a changing health care environment. At the time, it was clear that fundamental flaws in the fragmented U.S. health care system could be addressed through the integrative, generalist approach that is -- and has always been -- the hallmark of family medicine.

Extensive national research, conducted by independent firms along with five internal task forces, focused on key issues facing family medicine. The project identified core values; a new model of practice; and a process for development, research, education, partnership and change with the greatest potential to transform the ability of family medicine to improve the health and health care of the nation. The new model of practice established through the FFM project had the following characteristics:

The study concluded that family medicine needed to oversee the training of family physicians who are committed to excellence, believe in the core values of the discipline, able to provide family medicine's basket of services within the new model, and capable of adapting to varying patient needs and changing care technologies.

Significant change has occurred in the decade-plus since the initiation of the FFM project. This period has been marked by active experimentation within the specialty, and much good work has been accomplished, most notably, the implementation of the new model of care now known as the patient-centered medical home (PCMH).

Despite enormous progress -- including the emergence of the PCMH as a central component of the landmark Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act -- many new issues and questions confront the specialty. This combined with the significant changes underway in our health care system have prompted us to revisit the FFM project. The goal of this new effort is to look through today's lens at the challenges and opportunities facing family medicine in order to

As part of this process, the family medicine organizations will consider the following questions:

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Have Your Say on the Future of Family Medicine

Jersey Shore University Medical Center Physicians Honored by Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School

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Newswise September 10, 2013 Neptune, NJ Jersey Shore University Medical Center physicians Glenn S. Parker, M.D., FACS, interim chief of Surgery; Stacy Doumas, M.D., Psychiatry; and Meghan Rattigan, D.O., Obstetrics and Gynecology, recently received volunteer faculty awards from Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School (Rutgers RWJMS). The awards recognize contributions from volunteer faculty members in each clinical department at Rutgers RWJMS for exemplary teaching, community service, research, or patient care.

We are delighted that Dr. Parker, Dr. Doumas and Dr. Rattigan have been honored by Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School for their contributions to advancing medical knowledge, education and research. The awards are a testament to their commitment to providing the best health care experience for patients, and to educating and inspiring tomorrows physicians, comments David S. Kountz, M.D. vice president of Academic Affairs at Jersey Shore.

Jersey Shore, part of Meridian Health, is dedicated to advancing medical knowledge, both as a leading medical research facility and as an academic university-level teaching center. Meridians system-wide research program provides patients access to the newest treatments, with a focus on cancer care and cardiovascular disease. Additionally, Jersey Shore is committed to training the next generation of physicians, with residency and fellowship training programs in many clinical areas. As a University level affiliate of Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, many Jersey Shore physicians serve as professors and train medical students.

About Jersey Shore University Medical Center: Jersey Shore University Medical Center, a member of the Meridian Health family, is a not-for-profit teaching hospital and home to K. Hovnanian Childrens Hospital the first childrens hospital in Monmouth and Ocean counties. Jersey Shore is the regional provider of cardiac surgery, a program which has been ranked among the best in the Northeast, and is home to the only trauma center and stroke rescue center in the region. Jersey Shore specializes in cardiovascular care, orthopedics and rehabilitation, cancer care, neuroscience, nerve surgery and womens specialty services. Through the hospitals clinical research program, and its affiliation with Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, Jersey Shore serves as an academic center dedicated to advancing medical knowledge, training future physicians and providing the community with access to promising medical breakthroughs. For more information about Jersey Shore University Medical Center call 1-800-DOCTORS, or visit http://www.JerseyShoreUniversityMedicalCenter.com.

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Jersey Shore University Medical Center Physicians Honored by Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School

DeVry lures medical school rejects as taxpayers fund failed debt

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By Janet Lorin, Bloomberg News

American University of the Caribbean's main building on St. Maarten, as seen from the site of a new $30 million building. (Nicholas Calcott/Bloomberg News)

When he was a child, David Adams pretended to operate on his stuffed animals.

As a teen, the Salt Lake City native became a paramedic. He wanted to train to become a physician after graduating from the University of Utah with a bachelor's degree in health promotion and education in 2009 but was rejected by two dozen U.S. medical schools.

Three years later, he earned a Master of Science in medical health sciences from Touro University Nevada and applied again. Adams was accepted to American University of the Caribbean School of Medicine, which is owned by Downers Grove, Ill.-based DeVry Inc.

Adams, now 31, moved with his wife, Jessica, and their two young children to a two-bedroom apartment that smelled of dog urine and had a broken stove on the Dutch part of St. Maarten on Jan. 1. After financing his first two semesters with $67,000 in U.S. government-backed loans, Adams expects to leave medical school with as much as $400,000 in debt and about a 20 percent chance of never practicing as a physician in the U.S.

"I understand that I am coming from behind a little bit, attending a Caribbean medical school," Adams says, standing on his apartment's terrace, watching sailboats glide by on the deep-blue waters of Simpson Bay Lagoon.

DeVry, which has two for-profit medical schools in the Caribbean, is accepting hundreds of students who were rejected by U.S. medical colleges. These students amass more debt than their U.S. counterparts a median of $253,072 in June 2012 at AUC versus $170,000 for 2012 graduates of U.S. medical schools.

And that gap is even greater because the U.S. figure, compiled by the Association of American Medical Colleges, includes student debt incurred for undergraduate or other degrees, while the DeVry number is only federal medical school loans.

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DeVry lures medical school rejects as taxpayers fund failed debt

DeVry Lures Medical School Rejects as Taxpayers Fund Debt

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Nicholas Calcott/Bloomberg Markets

American University of the Caribbean's main building on St. Maarten, as seen from the site of a new $30 million building.

When he was a child, David Adams pretended to operate on his stuffed animals.

As a teen, the Salt Lake City native became a paramedic. He wanted to train to become a physician after graduating from the University of Utah with a bachelors degree in health promotion and education in 2009 but was rejected by two dozen U.S. medical schools.

Three years later, he earned a Master of Science in medical health sciences from Touro University Nevada and applied again, Bloomberg Markets will report in its October issue. Adams was accepted to American University of the Caribbean School of Medicine, which is owned by Downers Grove, Illinois-based DeVry Inc. (DV)

More from the October issue of Bloomberg Markets:

Adams, now 31, moved with his wife, Jessica, and their two young children to a two-bedroom apartment that smelled of dog urine and had a broken stove on the Dutch part of St. Maarten on Jan. 1. After financing his first two semesters with $67,000 in U.S. government-backed loans, Adams expects to leave medical school with as much as $400,000 in debt -- and about a 20 percent chance of never practicing as a physician in the U.S.

I understand that I am coming from behind a little bit, attending a Caribbean medical school, Adams says, standing on his apartments terrace, watching sailboats glide by on the deep-blue waters of Simpson Bay Lagoon.

DeVry, which has two for-profit medical schools in the Caribbean, is accepting hundreds of students who were rejected by U.S. medical colleges. These students amass more debt than their U.S. counterparts -- a median of $253,072 in June 2012 at AUC versus $170,000 for 2012 graduates of U.S. medical schools.

And that gap is even greater because the U.S. figure, compiled by the Association of American Medical Colleges, includes student debt incurred for undergraduate or other degrees, while the DeVry number is only federal medical school loans.

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DeVry Lures Medical School Rejects as Taxpayers Fund Debt

Catskills Confidential: Liberty creates liaison spot to help homeless students

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Published: 2:00 AM - 09/10/13

The Liberty School District failed to win a federal grant to underwrite a position for someone to work with its homeless students and Livingston Manor's, so the district has created a part-time liaison position.

Both districts had a combined 144 homeless students 119 in Liberty and 25 in Livingston Manor during the 2011-2012 school year. The year before, the number stood at 77.

BOCES used to provide liaison services until the state "reconfigured" the funding, Liberty Superintendent William Silver said.

Roberta Rehwaldt, director of special services, will continue to work with homeless students for Livingston Manor. Liberty's liaison will work about eight hours a week with homeless students, whose parents either are doubled-up with other families or staying in motels and shelters.

"You need someone to be the go-between," Silver said. "Providing resources for them (and) connecting them with other agencies."

Leonard Sparks

The film shot at the Government Center in Monticello and other locations in Sullivan County last month was shrouded in secrecy, but the website Deadline Hollywood described it as a "dark comedy about the nature of fame in the YouTube era."

David Cross, who gained fame as the character Tobias Funke in "Arrested Development," wrote and directed the movie, titled "Hits."

It stars James Adomian, Wyatt Cenac, Jake Cherry, Meredith Hagner, Matt Walsh and Derek Waters, according to Deadline Hollywood.

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Catskills Confidential: Liberty creates liaison spot to help homeless students