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Nutrition center playtime features cowboy, cowgirls

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Published 11:00pm Friday, May 25, 2012

Each year, the month of May is proclaimed Older Americans Month throughout the nation. And, each year, the Administration on Aging develops a theme for the month. This year, the theme is Never Too Old to Play.

So, the seniors at the Lillian D. Green Nutrition Center in Troy, laughingly, said they saddled up their Charlie horses and hit the happy trails for a play day.

Hassie Green, Center director, said the participants all grew up playing cowboys and Indians so they were encouraged to dress in western attire for play day at the Center on Thursday.

The men chose Roy Rogers and Hopalong Cassidy as their favorite cowboys with Gene Autry, the singing cowboy, coming in a close third.

Two-Gun Charlie Terry said Hopalong Cassidy was his all-time favorite. His choice had nothing to do with Hoppys gray hair, only with his ability to catch the bad guys.

However, Two-Gun had difficulty getting his guns out of the holster. So, the other cowboys kidded Two-Gun that he might want to change his name to Barney Fife

As for the cowgirls, Dale Evans was a hands-down favorite followed by Annie Oakley and Calamity Jane.

I admired the quality relationship Dale Evans had with her husband, Roy Rogers, Dorothy Belcher said. They always did the right thing and thats why I liked her so much. She and Roy Rogers were good people.

Essie Merriweather said Annie Oakley was her favorite cowgirl because she could ride like the wind and shoot a gnat in flight.

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Nutrition center playtime features cowboy, cowgirls

Nnew genetic method developed to pinpoint individuals’ geographic origin

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ScienceDaily (May 24, 2012) Understanding the genetic diversity within and between populations has important implications for studies of human disease and evolution. This includes identifying associations between genetic variants and disease, detecting genomic regions that have undergone positive selection and highlighting interesting aspects of human population history.

Now, a team of researchers from the UCLA Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science, UCLA's Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology and Israel's Tel Aviv University has developed an innovative approach to the study of genetic diversity called spatial ancestry analysis (SPA), which allows for the modeling of genetic variation in two- or three-dimensional space.

Their study is published online this week in the journal Nature Genetics.

With SPA, researchers can model the spatial distribution of each genetic variant by assigning a genetic variant's frequency as a continuous function in geographic space. By doing this, they show that the explicit modeling of the genetic variant frequency -- the proportion of individuals who carry a specific variant -- allows individuals to be localized on a world map on the basis of their genetic information alone.

"If we know from where each individual in our study originated, what we observe is that some variation is more common in one part of the world and less common in another part of the world," said Eleazar Eskin, an associate professor of computer science at UCLA Engineering. "How common these variants are in a specific location changes gradually as the location changes.

"In this study, we think of the frequency of variation as being defined by a specific location. This gives us a different way to think about populations, which are usually thought of as being discrete. Instead, we think about the variant frequencies changing in different locations. If you think about a person's ancestry, it is no longer about being from a specific population -- but instead, each person's ancestry is defined by the location they're from. Now ancestry is a continuum."

The team reports the development of a simple probabilistic model for the spatial structure of genetic variation, with which they model how the frequency of each genetic variant changes as a function of the location of the individual in geographic space (where the gene frequency is actually a function of the x and y coordinates of an individual on a map).

"If the location of an individual is unknown, our model can actually infer geographic origins for each individual using only their genetic data with surprising accuracy," said Wen-Yun Yang, a UCLA computer science graduate student.

"The model makes it possible to infer the geographic ancestry of an individual's parents, even if those parents differ in ancestry. Existing approaches falter when it comes to this task," said UCLA's John Novembre, an assistant professor in the department of ecology and evolution.

SPA is also able to model genetic variation on a globe.

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Nnew genetic method developed to pinpoint individuals' geographic origin

Expert: DNA on evidence is a match to Clemens'

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Roger Clemens is on accused of lying to Congress over his alleged steroid use.

AP

WASHINGTON (AP) -- A needle stored with a beer can appeared to contain an extremely tiny amount of Roger Clemens' DNA, which turned out to be good news and bad news for both sides in the perjury trial of the seven-time Cy Young Award winner.

A forensic scientist on Friday linked Clemens to cotton balls and a syringe needle saved from an alleged steroids injection 11 years ago. His testimony, laced with statistics and probabilities, was one of the last pieces of the government's case in its effort to prove that the pitcher lied to Congress in 2008 when he denied using performance-enhancing substances.

Under cross-examination, Clemens' lawyer tried to poke holes in the physical evidence. He got the expert to acknowledge there were "hundreds of thousands" of white males in the United States who could be a match for the scant amount of DNA found on the needle, and that it's "conceivable" the cotton balls could have been contaminated by beer and saliva.

Prosecutors had hoped to wrap up their case heading into the long holiday weekend as the trial reached the end of its sixth week, but the DNA expert's testimony took much longer than expected. U.S. District Judge Reggie Walton then ended the session a half-hour early when one of the jurors learned that her mother had died.

The judge said he doesn't expect the juror, a woman who works in law enforcement with the local public transportation authority, to return. Two jurors have previously been dismissed for sleeping, and another departure would leave only one alternate in a trial expected to last at least two more weeks.

The government's key witness, longtime Clemens strength coach Brian McNamee, says he injected Clemens with steroids in 1998, 2000 and 2001 and with human growth hormone in 2000. He said he kept the needle and other waste from a 2001 injection and stored it in and around a beer can in a FedEx box in his home for more than six years before turning it over to federal investigators.

Alan Keel of Forensic Science Associates told jurors that the DNA found on two cotton balls was "unique to one person who has ever lived on the planet" - Clemens. He said that one of the cotton balls had a random match possibility of one in 15.4 trillion for Clemens' DNA, and the other was one in 173 trillion, when compared to the population of white people in the U.S.

But the needle was not as conclusive. Keel was able to detect only six to 12 cells for testing when he examined it. A drop of blood, by comparison, contains up to 30,000 cells.

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Expert: DNA on evidence is a match to Clemens'

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Testimony links needle to Clemens DNA

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A needle stored with a beer can appeared to contain an extremely tiny amount of Roger Clemens DNA, which turned out to be good news and bad news for both sides in the perjury trial of the seven-time Cy Young Award winner.

A forensic scientist on Friday linked Clemens to cotton balls and a syringe needle saved from an alleged steroids injection 11 years ago. His testimony, laced with statistics and probabilities, was one of the last pieces of the governments case in its effort to prove that the pitcher lied to Congress in 2008 when he denied using performance-enhancing substances.

Under cross-examination, Clemens lawyer tried to poke holes in the physical evidence. He got the expert to acknowledge there were hundreds of thousands of white males in the United States who could be a match for the scant amount of DNA found on the needle, and that its conceivable the cotton balls could have been contaminated by beer and saliva.

Prosecutors had hoped to wrap up their case heading into the long holiday weekend as the trial reached the end of its sixth week, but the DNA experts testimony took much longer than expected. U.S. District Judge Reggie Walton then ended the session a half-hour early when one of the jurors learned that her mother had died.

The judge said he doesnt expect the juror, a woman who works in law enforcement with the local public transportation authority, to return. Two jurors have previously been dismissed for sleeping, and another departure would leave only one alternate in a trial expected to last at least two more weeks.

The governments key witness, longtime Clemens strength coach Brian McNamee, says he injected Clemens with steroids in 1998, 2000 and 2001 and with human growth hormone in 2000. He said he kept the needle and other waste from a 2001 injection and stored it in and around a beer can in a FedEx box in his home for more than six years before turning it over to federal investigators.

Alan Keel of Forensic Science Associates told jurors that the DNA found on two cotton balls was unique to one person who has ever lived on the planet Clemens. He said that one of the cotton balls had a random match possibility of one in 15.4 trillion for Clemens DNA, and the other was one in 173 trillion, when compared to the population of white people in the U.S.

But the needle was not as conclusive. Keel was able to detect only six to 12 cells for testing when he examined it. A drop of blood, by comparison, contains up to 30,000 cells.

The match: one in 449 for Clemens.

That means that Mr. Clemens is the likely source of that biology, Keel said.

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Testimony links needle to Clemens DNA

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Expert says DNA on evidence matches Clemens'

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Roger Clemens is on accused of lying to Congress over his alleged steroid use.

AP

WASHINGTON (AP) -- A needle stored with a beer can appeared to contain an extremely tiny amount of Roger Clemens' DNA, which turned out to be good news and bad news for both sides in the perjury trial of the seven-time Cy Young Award winner.

A forensic scientist on Friday linked Clemens to cotton balls and a syringe needle saved from an alleged steroids injection 11 years ago. His testimony, laced with statistics and probabilities, was one of the last pieces of the government's case in its effort to prove that the pitcher lied to Congress in 2008 when he denied using performance-enhancing substances.

Under cross-examination, Clemens' lawyer tried to poke holes in the physical evidence. He got the expert to acknowledge there were "hundreds of thousands" of white males in the United States who could be a match for the scant amount of DNA found on the needle, and that it's "conceivable" the cotton balls could have been contaminated by beer and saliva.

Prosecutors had hoped to wrap up their case heading into the long holiday weekend as the trial reached the end of its sixth week, but the DNA expert's testimony took much longer than expected. U.S. District Judge Reggie Walton then ended the session a half-hour early when one of the jurors learned that her mother had died.

The judge said he doesn't expect the juror, a woman who works in law enforcement with the local public transportation authority, to return. Two jurors have previously been dismissed for sleeping, and another departure would leave only one alternate in a trial expected to last at least two more weeks.

The government's key witness, longtime Clemens strength coach Brian McNamee, says he injected Clemens with steroids in 1998, 2000 and 2001 and with human growth hormone in 2000. He said he kept the needle and other waste from a 2001 injection and stored it in and around a beer can in a FedEx box in his home for more than six years before turning it over to federal investigators.

Alan Keel of Forensic Science Associates told jurors that the DNA found on two cotton balls was "unique to one person who has ever lived on the planet" - Clemens. He said that one of the cotton balls had a random match possibility of one in 15.4 trillion for Clemens' DNA, and the other was one in 173 trillion, when compared to the population of white people in the U.S.

But the needle was not as conclusive. Keel was able to detect only six to 12 cells for testing when he examined it. A drop of blood, by comparison, contains up to 30,000 cells.

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Expert says DNA on evidence matches Clemens'

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DNA evidence is contested in Clemens trial

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WASHINGTON - A needle stored with a beer can appeared to contain an extremely tiny amount of Roger Clemens' DNA, which turned out to be good news and bad news for both sides in the perjury trial of the seven-time Cy Young Award winner.

A forensic scientist Friday linked Clemens to cotton balls and a syringe needle saved from an alleged steroids injection 11 years ago. His testimony was one of the last pieces of the government's case in its effort to prove that the pitcher lied to Congress in 2008 when he denied using performance-enhancing substances.

Under cross-examination, Clemens' lawyer tried to poke holes in the physical evidence. He got the expert to acknowledge there were "hundreds of thousands" of white males in the United States who could be a match for the scant amount of DNA found on the needle, and that it's "conceivable" the cotton balls could have been contaminated by beer and saliva.

The government's key witness, longtime Clemens strength coach Brian McNamee, says he injected Clemens with steroids in 1998, 2000, and 2001 and with human growth hormone in 2000. He said he kept the needle and other waste from a 2001 injection in his home for more than six years before turning it over to federal investigators.

Alan Keel of Forensic Science Associates told the U.S. District Court jury that the DNA found on two cotton balls was "unique to one person who has ever lived on the planet" - Clemens. He said that one of the cotton balls had a random match possibility of one in 15.4 trillion for Clemens' DNA, and the other was one in 173 trillion.

But the needle was not as conclusive. Keel was able to detect only six to 12 cells for testing when he examined it. A drop of blood, by comparison, contains up to 30,000 cells. The match: one in 449 for Clemens.

"That means that Mr. Clemens is the likely source of that biology," Keel said.

Knowing that the defense would try to undermine the integrity of the evidence, prosecutor Courtney Saleski asked: "Is there any way to fake this?"

"No," Keel said. "If this were contrived, I would expect to obtain much more biological material."

During cross-examination, Clemens lawyer Michael Attanasio attacked the findings in several ways. He pointed out that Keel was being paid by the government. He pointed out that Keel didn't test all of the items available. He pointed out that the DNA had degraded over time. He noted that 449 was a "far, far smaller number" than the other numbers in the trillions, and it therefore can't be said with uncontested certainty that the DNA on the needle belongs to Clemens.

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DNA evidence is contested in Clemens trial

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Turning DNA into a hard drive

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Silicon-based computers are fine for typing term papers and surfing the Web, but scientists want to make devices that can work on a far smaller scale, recording data within individual cells. One way to do that is to create a microscopic hard drive out of DNA, the molecule that already stores the genetic blueprints of all living things.

Stanford University bioengineer Drew Endy is a pioneer in the field of synthetic biology, which aims to turn the basic building blocks of nature into tools for designing living machines. This week, members of his lab reported in Proceedings of the National Academies of Sciences that they had figured out a way to turn DNA into a rewriteable data storage device that can operate within a cell. He spoke with The Times about the research.

What is synthetic biology?

Synthetic biology is basically a celebration of an engineer's inclination to want to make things using biology. Humans often learn by taking things apart. But an equally powerful way to learn is putting things back together. In synthetic biology, we can begin to put natural biological systems back together at the molecular level to test the understanding of genetics and biology we've accrued over the last 70 years.

So you want to build things using biology including, in this case, a way to use DNA to store data?

Yes. We wanted to scope out an area where there are grand challenges in bioengineering, and genetically encoded data storage meaning storing information inside living organisms fit the bill.

Why would this be useful?

Say I wanted to put a genetically encoded counter to record cell divisions within every cell of my liver. A USB memory stick simply isn't going to fit in there. And even if I could miniaturize such a device with a future silicon-based manufacturing platform, it would be incredibly difficult to connect up to the biochemistry I'm going to want to record information about.

How does your data storage system work?

We engineered a little sequence of DNA and inserted it onto a chromosome in anE. colibacterium. Then we targeted this DNA with enzymes. Under one set of conditions, one of the enzymes cuts the DNA out from the genome, turns it and reinserts it back into the DNA. It would be as if you took a word in a sentence of text, flipped it upside down and backwards, and pasted it back into the sentence. It would look kind of funny.

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Turning DNA into a hard drive

Posted in DNA

Palm Beach County students top state average in biology, geometry end-of-course exams

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By Allison Ross-Ferrelli

Palm Beach Post Staff Writer

Palm Beach County high school students fared slightly better than the state average on end-of-course examinations in geometry and biology, according to results released Thursday .

End-of-course exams are being phased in as replacements for FCATs in several high school classes, as the state gradually moves away from the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test for math and language arts by 2015.

Last year, an Algebra I test was the first end-of-course exam to be given. Next year, the state will debut a U.S. History end-of-course test.

Because this is the first year for the geometry and biology tests, the state has not yet set achievement and passing levels for it. Those are expected to be set this fall.

Instead, the scores were reported by the percentage of students who scored in the highest, middle and lowest thirds.

For geometry, 36 percent of Palm Beach County students scored in the highest third, 30 percent in the middle and 34 percent in the lowest.

By comparison, 34 percent, 31 percent and 35 percent of students statewide scored in those brackets, respectively.

For biology, 37 percent of county students were in the top third, compared with 35 percent statewide. In the middle third were 29 percent of county students, down slightly from 31 percent statewide. And both Palm Beach County and the state reported 34 percent of students in the bottom third.

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Palm Beach County students top state average in biology, geometry end-of-course exams

Madison masterpieces: John Steuart Curry murals, UW Biochemistry Building

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On a stroll through the UW campus, there's plenty of art to see, from the newly expanded Chazen Museum of Art to galleries within Memorial Union and Union South.

But not all of the university's artistic treasures are in places you might expect. Take the stairwell of the recently renovated Biochemistry Building. There you'll find murals by the renowned American painter John Steuart Curry that are not only fascinating in their own right, but also a testament to a forward-thinking collaboration between the sciences and arts.

Curry, part of a trio of famed regionalists along with Grant Wood and Thomas Hart Benton, was invited to the UW in 1936 as artist-in-residence. While such arrangements are now common at schools across the country, Curry's position was the first of its kind in the nation and it was through the College of Agriculture, not the art department.

The 1940s mural The Social Benefits of Biochemical Research dramatically depicts the gains brought by vitamin discoveries and applications by leading UW researchers such as Harry Steenbock.

Sickly children and animals contrast with vibrant, healthy kids and livestock striding forward. Spread over three walls in the octagonal stairwell, the main panel exudes a sincere conviction in human progress and the ability of science to make life better. Additional panels in the stairwell show lush cornstalks waving in the wind and an idyllic farm where roosters, sows, calves and other critters thrive.

A nearby conference room contains more Curry murals, and works by Curry are also in the permanent collections of the Chazen and the Madison Museum of Contemporary Art.

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Madison masterpieces: John Steuart Curry murals, UW Biochemistry Building

CEM President and CEO Delivers Commencement Address at the 2012 University of Texas at Austin Chemistry and …

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MATTHEWS, N.C., May 25, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --CEM Corporation president and CEO Michael J. Collins delivered the commencement address for the University of Texas at Austin Chemistry and Biochemistry Department, which was held on May 18, 2012. Collins received his PhD in Physical Chemistry from the University and has been a member of the Advisory Board for the Chemistry Department at the school for a number of years.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20090622/CL35336LOGO-b )

"I am honored to have been asked to deliver the commencement address again this year," said Michael J. Collins. "UT's encouragement of science and innovation has resulted in a thriving chemistry and biochemistry program whose graduates rank at the top of their professions. I enjoyed speaking to this year's graduates and I look forward to the scientific discoveries and contributions they will make in the years to come."

Collins told the audience about his time at the University of Texas at Austin and how it helped shape his life as a chemist, entrepreneur, and business leader. He advised graduates to disregard the defeatists that have been predicting a worsening of the economy and a lack of opportunities.

"I predict we are on the verge of a major new era of growth for the US which will exceed anything we have seen in the past," said Collins, who believes the growth will be driven by continuing technological advancements in many fields including medicine, material science, and energy production and the ongoing globalization of business as new markets open up in developing countries.

Collins also sees a coming revitalization of American manufacturing through entrepreneurial innovation and breakthroughs in technology.

"Science-based technology companies will continue to change the world. Chemistry and biochemistry will drive many of these companies," said Collins. "Your goal is to go forward and truly become our greatest generation ever."

Collins encouraged the graduates to find something they are passionate about and to pursue it with all their energy and determination.

"Whatever you decide to do, be the absolute best at it and keep challenging yourself," Collins encouraged. "Always be prepared, but be bold and think big."

A prepared text of Dr. Collins' commencement address is available on CEM's website at http://www.cem.com.

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CEM President and CEO Delivers Commencement Address at the 2012 University of Texas at Austin Chemistry and ...

Missing children, perception vs. reality

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By Kenneth V. Lanning, Special to CNN

updated 5:07 PM EDT, Fri May 25, 2012

National Missing Children's Day is based on the case of Etan Patz.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

Editor's note: Kenneth V. Lanning, a consultant in crimes against children, was a special agent with the FBI for more than 30 years and was assigned to the FBI Behavioral Science Unit at the FBI Academy for 20 of those years.

(CNN) -- May 25, National Missing Children's Day, is a day on which we honor and remember missing children. This date was chosen specifically because it is the date in 1979 when 6-year-old Etan Patz went missing on his way to school in New York.

The Patz case has resurfaced as a result of some potential new leads and an arrest that hopefully will result in the case finally being solved. I have the greatest respect and empathy for the parents of Etan, who are going through what is clearly one of the greatest nightmares any parent can experience -- never again seeing and not knowing what happened to one's own child.

Just as the Lindbergh case in the 1930s became a landmark case for increased national awareness concerning ransom kidnapping, the Patz case became a landmark case for increased national awareness concerning "stranger abduction." Each of these cases played a major role in creating laws, but they also fueled some confusing stereotypes.

Kenneth V. Lanning

When I joined the FBI in 1970 and someone talked about child abduction, you immediately assumed it was a ransom-motivated case. In less than 20 years, the attitude drastically changed to almost immediately assuming any child abduction involved a sexual predator. Either assumption is obviously not always correct.

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Missing children, perception vs. reality

Di’Anno Wants Former Iron Maiden Bandmate To Undergo Stem Cell Therapy

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05/24/2012 . (Classic Rock) Former Iron Maiden singer Paul Di'Anno wants his ex-bandmate Clive Burr to undergo stem cell therapy, despite the costs and risks associated with the procedure.

Burr, the drummer with Maiden from 1979 until 1982, has been in a wheelchair as a result of multiple sclerosis, which has been attacking his nervous system since before he was diagnosed in 2002.

MS reduces the ability of the brain and spinal cord to communicate with each other, resulting in a wide range of potentially severe symptoms. The cause is unknown and there is no cure; but in 2009 researchers made the first breakthrough in reversing symptoms through stem cell therapy.

Di'Anno tells Talking Metal Pirate Radio Burr's condition is "not very good at all." He had a lot to say, read it here.

Classic Rock Magazine is an official news provider for antiMusic.com. Copyright Classic Rock Magazine- Excerpted here with permission.

antiMUSIC News featured on RockNews.info and Yahoo News

...end

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Di'Anno Wants Former Iron Maiden Bandmate To Undergo Stem Cell Therapy

Carolina Speech Pathology Announces Bedside FEES Service for Washington State During Washington Health Care …

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Carolina Speech Pathology Announces Bedside FEES Service for Washington State During Washington Health Care Association Conference

Dysphagia is a term used to describe swallowing disorders. The exact prevalence of dysphagia is unknown; there are suggestions that it can be as high as 22% in those over 50 years of age. Approximately 10 million American are evaluated each year with swallowing difficulties. Those difficulties negatively impact quality of life and impaired swallowing can cause significant morbidity and mortality (ASHA.org). More specifically to patients in Skilled Nursing Facilities the prevalence of dysphagia can range from 30-75%. Those patients require addition care and are often on highly restrictive and expensive diets.

"Carolina Speech Pathology is proud of our continuous growth and looks forward to sharing our 16 years of experience with dysphagia to help improve the lives of patients in Washington. Our bedside FEES will provide significant cost savings to care facilities and improve patient outcomes while also creating a better quality of life. By reducing the need for transportation to the hospital for more cumbersome and expensive MBS procedures, our procedure creates a winning scenario that benefits the patient, the facility and the established rehab department," said Randy Aguero, CSP Business Development Director.

Carolina Speech Pathology is based in Apex, North Carolina. The announced expansion to WA adds to their coverage area of VA, NC, SC, GA , FL, AL, WV, CA and OR, and partner coverage in IN, OH, TN and KY. CSP is known for hiring experienced Speech-Language Pathologists and responding to FEES study requests within 3-5 business days.

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Carolina Speech Pathology Announces Bedside FEES Service for Washington State During Washington Health Care ...

Elk and nutrition

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Lack of good, summer nutrition may be one reason elk are spending more time on private Wallowa Valley and Zumwalt Prairie land and not in the national forest. KATY NESBITT / The Observer

Researchers John and Rachel Cook conduct ground-breaking work

Decreases in elk herd numbers have prompted agencies and biologists alike to look to their habitat for clues.

A series of studies, started in 1995, reveal a new piece to the puzzle: the importance of nutritionto elk health, reproduction and survival.

While working with a large herd of tame elk in the early 90s,La Grande researchers John and Rachel Cook of the National Council for Air and Stream Improvement started questioning the importance of nutrition.

Nutrition is an important mechanism of the animals performance that was understudied at the time we started our research, said John Cook.

Cook said recruitment of calves until adult age classes has declined by about half since the 1950s across the Blue Mountains. With this in mind, the Cooks set out to discover if nutrition is indeed a factor, if so, whats causing the problems, and to come up with solutions.

Elk are one the most studied wildlife species in the western United States, but the Cooks nutrition research was ground-breaking. The fact that elk herds were declining across the Northwest, said Cook, tended to shift the focus away from habitat quality, thermal cover, and roads, to understanding what it is about habitat thatdrives population dynamics and performance.

The Cooks have used both wild and tame elk for nearly two decades to learn about their nutritional needs. What they discovered is that a small difference in nutrition has a big effect on performance.

The tame elk study started with 60 elk, all around the age of 4 or 5 years old. They were divided into three groups to determine the effects of nutrition on reproduction.

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Elk and nutrition

Seegene and DuPont Nutrition & Health Agree to Develop Highly Multiplexed Molecular Assays for Food Safety Testing

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WILMINGTON, DE and SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA--(Marketwire -05/24/12)- Seegene Inc. (096530.KQ), a leading developer of multiplex molecular technologies and diagnostic tests, and DuPont Nutrition & Health, a leading provider of rapid, molecular diagnostic systems, have agreed to jointly develop new, highly multiplexed assays for the detection of foodborne pathogens.

Combining novel technologies from Seegene with the powerful chemistry and analytics of the BAX System from DuPont allows for a potential step-change in pathogen testing. For example, Seegene DPO technology generates consistently high specificity by eliminating primer competition, and TOCE technology allows the identification of multiple targets in a single dye channel. With this agreement, DuPont and Seegene are seeking to develop highly multiplexed, real-time PCR assays that provide for rapid detection and differentiation of 10 or more organisms from a single sample in a single test.

"We are constantly seeking innovative collaborators to develop science-based solutions that will meet evolving needs for food safety and quality," said George Tice, research and development director, DuPont Qualicon Diagnostics. "This integration of unique Seegene technologies with robust diagnostic systems from DuPont will give the food industry increasingly powerful tools to help protect their products and their brands."

"Working with DuPont Qualicon Diagnostics opens a significant new market opportunity for our portfolio of multiplex molecular technologies," said Jong-Yoon Chun, founder and CEO of Seegene. "By leveraging these novel technologies, we can advance from the current 'one test, one pathogen' approach to a 'one test, many pathogens' paradigm. This will significantly improve the efficiency and effectiveness of food safety testing, and help to reduce the prevalence of foodborne illness."

This initiative marks the entry of Seegene's multiplex technologies into the multi-billion dollar food safety testing market. According to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, foodborne illness each year in the United States alone affects 48 million people.

DPO technology is a fundamental tool for blocking extension of non-specifically primed templates, generating assays that are both highly specific and highly sensitive. TOCE enables simultaneous multiplex testing, by using the differences in melting temperatures of designed artificial amplicons. Prior to TOCE, multiplex assays were difficult because even a small variation in amplicon sequences changes the melting temperature (Tm) of the amplicon. TOCE technology overcomes current limitations of Tm analysis and allows testing of multiple targets with one fluorescent label by ensuring that sequence variation does not change the melting temperature.

Food processing companies around the world rely on the BAX system from DuPont Qualicon Diagnostics to detect pathogens or other organisms in raw ingredients, finished products and environmental samples. The automated system uses leading-edge technology, including polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assays, tableted reagents and optimized media to detect Salmonella, Listeria species, Listeria monocytogenes, E. coli O157:H7 and STEC, Cronobacter, Campylobacter, Staphylococcus aureus, Vibrio, and yeast and mold. With certifications and regulatory approvals in the Americas, Asia and Europe, the BAX system is one of the most advanced pathogen testing system available to food companies. For more information, please visit http://www.qualicon.com

Seegene is the world's leading developer of multiplex molecular technologies and multiplex clinical molecular diagnostics (M-MoDx). Seegene's core enabling technologies -- ACP, DPO, READ, and TOCE -- are the foundation for M-MoDx tests that can simultaneously detect multiple targets with high sensitivity, specificity and reproducibility. Seegene's products detect multi-pathogens with great reliability and throughput, ultimately providing the most economical basis for saving time, labor and cost. Seegene's mission is to maintain leadership in molecular diagnostics for infectious diseases, genetics, pharmacogenetics, and oncology using innovative proprietary technologies. For more information please visit http://www.seegene.com or call +301-762-9066.

The DuPont Nutrition & Health division addresses the world's challenges in food by offering a wide range of sustainable, bio-based ingredients and advanced microbial diagnostic solutions to provide safer, healthier and more nutritious food. Through close collaboration with customers, DuPont combines knowledge and experience with a passion for innovation to deliver unparalleled customer value to the marketplace.

DuPont (DD) has been bringing world-class science and engineering to the global marketplace in the form of innovative products, materials, and services since 1802. The company believes that by collaborating with customers, governments, NGOs, and thought leaders we can help find solutions to such global challenges as providing enough healthy food for people everywhere, decreasing dependence on fossil fuels, and protecting life and the environment. For additional information about DuPont and its commitment to inclusive innovation, please visit http://www.dupont.com and http://www.qualicon.com.

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Seegene and DuPont Nutrition & Health Agree to Develop Highly Multiplexed Molecular Assays for Food Safety Testing

Nutrition Experts Convene to Discuss New Patient Malnutrition Research

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Canadian Malnutrition Task Force Emphasizes an Unrecognized Public Health Issue in our Canadian Hospitals

VANCOUVER, May 24, 2012 /CNW/ - Today and tomorrow at the Canadian Nutrition Society's annual meeting in Vancouver, The Canadian Malnutrition Task Force (CMTF) is presenting preliminary results of the Nutrition Care in Canadian Hospitals Study underscoring that in the hospital setting, malnutrition is prevalent and that nutritional status deteriorates in many patients and that this may affect clinical outcomes. Nutritional care needs to be improved to promote the recovery process. The Task Force is comprised of concerned healthcare professionals and researchers, looking to address the malnutrition issues in Canadian Hospitals.

CMTF strives to achieve optimal nutritional status for adult and paediatric patients in hospitals and older adults living in the community and in long term care (LTC) facilities, by developing and promoting valid nutrition care processes as part of standard clinical care. Malnutrition is a widespread Canadian issue that requires the public's attention to close the gaps between research and practice in the prevention, detection and treatment of malnutrition in Canadians through the continuum of care.

Previous research studies confirm that optimal nutrition is a significant problem in Canada.

"CMTF is now conducting a new study assessing the issue of malnutrition and nutrition care in Canadian hospitals across the country. This is an important study because patient recovery depends not only on specific disease treatments but it also depends on adequate nutrition. Unfortunately, the role of nutrition care is often not well recognized across our health care system," says Dr. Heather Keller, Professor, Department of Kinesiology, University of Waterloo and Co-Chair of the Canadian Malnutrition Task Force.

This new study, the Nutrition Care in Canadian Hospitals Study, includes locations across the country to assess nutritional status and prevalence of malnutrition, evaluate the practice of nutritional care, identify potential tools to improve the situation, as well as outline the physical, psychological and economic impact of malnutrition and poor nutrition care.

According to preliminary results, the prevalence of malnutrition is about 40 per cent in our Canadian hospitals, with the severely malnourished patients being older with more co-morbidities. Results also suggest that nutritional status deteriorates for some in hospital and malnourished patients have higher mortality. Nutritional status at admission predicts a shorter length of stay, as does eating more than 50 per cent of meals provided and being younger than 60 years of age. This indicates that we need to put more effort into maintaining and improving nutritional status and food intake in hospitalized patients to promote a faster recovery.

It is also important to note that based on this study, physicians don't consistently assess patient nutritional status at admission and discharge and that although most patients were satisfied with food quality, half of them ate less than 50 per cent of their meals for various reasons. A patient satisfaction survey, which was part of the study, identified that patients have challenges with the size of serving portions, being able to reach their meal trays, opening packages and even missing meals for medical procedures.

PRELIMINARY STUDY FINDINGS FOR PATIENT SATISFACTION

The Task Force will continue to finalize the study to garner important insights that will improve the malnutrition situation for countless Canadian patients. Data collection began in August 2010 with the anticipated completion of the study toward the end of the fall 2012.

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Nutrition Experts Convene to Discuss New Patient Malnutrition Research

The American Society for Microbiology announces the 2012 Award Laureates

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Public release date: 24-May-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Garth Hogan ghogan@asmusa.org American Society for Microbiology

The American Society for Microbiology (ASM) is proud to announce the 2012 award laureates. The awards will be presented during the 112th General Meeting of the ASM, June 16-19, 2012 in San Francisco, CA.

Abbott Award in Clinical and Diagnostic Immunology honors a distinguished scientist in the field of clinical or diagnostic immunology. Bruce S. Rabin, M.D., Ph.D., Medical Director, Clinical Immunopathology, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, PA

Abbott-ASM Lifetime Achievement Award honors an individual whose made sustained contributions to the microbiological sciences. Stuart B. Levy, M.D., Director, Center for Adaptation Genetics and Drug Resistance, Distinguished Professor of Medicine, Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston, MA

ASM Founders Distinguished Service Award recognizes a member of ASM for outstanding contributions to the Society in a volunteer capacity at the national level. Ellen Jo Baron, Ph.D., Director, Medical Affairs, Cepheid, Sunnyvale, CA

ASM Graduate Microbiology Teaching Award honors an individual for exemplary teaching of microbiology and mentoring of students at the graduate and postgraduate levels and for encouraging students to subsequent achievement. Joanna B. Goldberg, Ph.D., Professor, University of Virginia, Charlottesville

BD Award for Research in Clinical Microbiology honors a distinguished clinical microbiologist for outstanding research accomplishments leading to or forming the foundation for important applications in clinical microbiology. Patrice Courvalin, M.D., Head of the Antibacterial Agents Unit, Insitut Pasteur, Paris, France

bioMrieux Sonnenwirth Award for Leadership in Clinical Microbiology recognizes a distinguished microbiologist for the promotion of innovation in clinical laboratory science, dedication to ASM, and the advancement of clinical microbiology as a profession. Susan E. Sharp, M.S., Ph.D., Director of Microbiology, Kaiser Permanente Northwest, Portland, OR

Carski Foundation Distinguished Undergraduate Teaching Award recognizes a mature individual for distinguished teaching of microbiology to undergraduate students and for encouraging them to subsequent achievement. Lilliam Casillas-Martinez, Ph.D., Full Professor, University of Puerto Rico, Humacao

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The American Society for Microbiology announces the 2012 Award Laureates

Dr. Karen Lloyd receives WHOI’s Holger W. Jannasch Visiting Scholar Award

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Public release date: 25-May-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: WHOI Media Relations Office media@whoi.edu 508-289-3340 Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution

The Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) has chosen Karen Lloyd, an assistant professor in the Department of Microbiology at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, as the recipient of the Holger W. Jannasch Visiting Scholar Award.

The award recognizes Lloyd for her "outstanding contributions to the field of marine microbiology," as well as her demonstrated excellence in mentoring students and commitment to educational public outreach.

Lloyd is currently pushing the frontiers of the field by analyzing the diversity and function of yet-to-be cultivated bacteria and archaeaa group of single-celled microorganismsin deep subseafloor sediments using single-cell genomics and other cutting-edge techniques. Her research focuses on linking uncultivated microorganisms to their geochemical functions and exploring how these communities react to changing environmental conditions.

Lloyd will visit WHOI the week of July 9-13, 2012, and present two lectures to students and scientists in the Woods Hole community. The first talk, on a general scientific topic, will be Monday, July 9, 2012, at 3 p.m. in Redfield Auditorium. Lloyd will present a second talk, which will focus on her research, Wednesday, July 11, 2012, at noon in Clark 507.

"This is a wonderful opportunity to recognize a talented young microbiologist while celebrating the legacy of Holger Jannasch, who shaped the field of marine microbiology," said WHOI Biology Department Chair Mark Hahn.

The visiting scholar award is named in memory of Jannasch, a WHOI senior scientist in the Biology Department and world-renowned, deep-sea microbiologist, who died in 1998. During his illustrious career, he isolated and cultivated many microbes, studied their physiology and adaptations to the environment, and explored associations between microbes and animals. He also was involved in designing sophisticated instrumentation for collecting and culturing bacteria, as well as to measure rates of microbial activity in the deep-sea. Jannasch and his WHOI colleagues performed pioneering work investigating microbial decomposition rates in the deep sea.

Following the discovery of deep-sea hydrothermal vents in the late 1970s, Jannasch's lab again played an instrumental role in identifying chemosynthesis as the nutritional basis for life at deep-sea vents, which has had major implications for deep-sea microbial ecology and the way we think about the origin of life on Earth.

"My first exposure to oceanography was working as a lab technician at WHOI for Andreas TeskeHolger Jannasch's successora year after Dr. Jannasch's passing. His work influenced nearly every aspect of the field of deep sea microbiology, and I am honored to receive the award that bears his name," Lloyd said.

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Dr. Karen Lloyd receives WHOI's Holger W. Jannasch Visiting Scholar Award

Top 8 Longevity/Sillage to beat skin chemistry PLUS Baudelaire by Bayredo Giveaway! – Video

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24-05-2012 12:29 These 8 will beat your perfume eating skin into submission and last hour after hour after hour, they also smell great! Also I'm trying to offload a bottle of Baudelaire by high-end hytniche brand Bayredo, so if your subscribe to my channel and drop a message in the comments section below you could be the lucky recipient of an boxed 50ml bottle! Bottega Veneta by Bottega Veneta -

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Top 8 Longevity/Sillage to beat skin chemistry PLUS Baudelaire by Bayredo Giveaway! - Video

'Personality genes' may help account for longevity

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ScienceDaily (May 24, 2012) "It's in their genes" is a common refrain from scientists when asked about factors that allow centenarians to reach age 100 and beyond. Up until now, research has focused on genetic variations that offer a physiological advantage such as high levels of HDL ("good") cholesterol. But researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine and Ferkauf Graduate School of Psychology of Yeshiva University have found that personality traits like being outgoing, optimistic, easygoing, and enjoying laughter as well as staying engaged in activities may also be part of the longevity genes mix.

The findings, published online May 21 in the journal Aging, come from Einstein's Longevity Genes Project, which includes over 500 Ashkenazi Jews over the age of 95, and 700 of their offspring. Ashkenazi (Eastern European) Jews were selected because they are genetically homogeneous, making it easier to spot genetic differences within the study population.

Previous studies have indicated that personality arises from underlying genetic mechanisms that may directly affect health. The present study of 243 of the centenarians (average age 97.6 years, 75 percent women) was aimed at detecting genetically-based personality characteristics by developing a brief measure (the Personality Outlook Profile Scale, or POPS) of personality in centenarians.

"When I started working with centenarians, I thought we'd find that they survived so long in part because they were mean and ornery," said Nir Barzilai, M.D., the Ingeborg and Ira Leon Rennert Chair of Aging Research, director of Einstein's Institute for Aging Research and co-corresponding author of the study. "But when we assessed the personalities of these 243 centenarians, we found qualities that clearly reflect a positive attitude towards life. Most were outgoing, optimistic and easygoing. They considered laughter an important part of life and had a large social network. They expressed emotions openly rather than bottling them up." In addition, the centenarians had lower scores for displaying neurotic personality and higher scores for being conscientious compared with a representative sample of the U.S. population.

"Some evidence indicates that personality can change between the ages of 70 and 100, so we don't know whether our centenarians have maintained their personality traits across their entire lifespans," continued Dr. Barzilai. "Nevertheless, our findings suggest that centenarians share particular personality traits and that genetically-based aspects of personality may play an important role in achieving both good health and exceptional longevity."

The study is titled "Positive attitude towards life and emotional expression as personality phenotypes for centenarians." The POPS was developed by lead author Kaori Kato, Psy.D., now at Weill Cornell Medical College, who validated it through comparisons with two previously established measures of personality traits. Other authors of the study were Richard Zweig, Ph.D., assistant clinical professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Einstein and director of the Older Adult Program at Ferkauf, and Gil Atzmon, Ph.D., assistant professor of medicine and of genetics at Einstein.

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Albert Einstein College of Medicine.

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'Personality genes' may help account for longevity