Comets regroup, stop losing streak with strong win at Durant

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DURANT, Iowa Thursday was the beginning of a new season for the West Liberty High School volleyball team.

Entering their showdown with Durant, the Comets had lost two competitive matches in the previous five days to Pleasant Valley and West Branch, blemishing a previously-undefeated record.

Instead of lamenting the lost unbeaten mark, West Liberty has left it behind. Durant avoided a sweep with a comeback victory in the third set, but the Comets responded with a dominant fourth set, finishing off the Wildcats 3-1 at Durant High School on Thursday night.

The Class 3A No. 7 Comets (25-2, 7-1 RVC) won 25-14, 25-19, 26-24, 25-10.

Audra Bridenstine had a Comet-best 19 kills and Hailey Daufeldt added 17 kills with two blocks. Durants Shannon Telsrow led the 2A No. 10 Wildcats (17-5, 6-2) with 18 kills, including eight in the victorious third set.

We werent hoping to go four, West Liberty coach Ruben Galvan said, but I think it showed great character on our part to settle down after a shaky start to figure it out and beat a very good Durant team.

The Wildcats were down a key player Thursday after Sarah Nanninga had to get an emergency appendectomy on Wednesday morning. Nanninga was present to root her team on, but her presence as Durants key middle hitter was sorely missed, Durant coach Renee Meyer said.

Even without Nanninga, Meyer noted that Durants passing was the major downfall against the Comets.

It was terrible, Meyer said. Yes, its a different six on the court [without Nanninga] but its not like the other girls hadnt been there playing before.

I like that we fought back in that third set to win that, but tonight had to start with our passing and it just wasnt there.

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Comets regroup, stop losing streak with strong win at Durant

Comets Assign Three to Kalamazoo Wings

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October 9, 2014 - American Hockey League (AHL) Utica Comets Utica Comets Director of Hockey Operations Pat Conacher has announced that three players have been assigned to the Comets ECHL affiliate, the Kalamazoo Wings. The Vancouver Canucks have reassigned forwards Alex Mallet and Dane Fox from Utica to Kalamazoo while forward Curtis Valk has been signed to an AHL contract by Utica and assigned to the Wings.

Mallet, 22, spent last season in Utica and logged five points in 59 games with the Comets. Originally selected by the Canucks in the second round (#57 overall) in 2012, Mallet is entering his third professional season.

Fox, 20, is entering his first professional season after being named the Ontario Hockey League's Player of the Year following the 2013-14 season. He led the league in goals with 64 and finished second in points with 107. Fox played five seasons in the OHL and was signed by the Canucks as a free agent on Dec. 28, 2013.

Valk, 21, attended training camp with the Vancouver Canucks and has been signed to an AHL contract by the Comets. Last season, Valk completed his Western Hockey League career with 92 points (47 goals, 45 assists) in 72 games for the Medicine Hat Tigers.

The Comets open the season on Saturday at 3 p.m. against the Toronto Marlies. Video streaming of the game will be available through http://www.ahllive.com while radio coverage will be provided by 94.9 K-ROCK.

Tickets to the Comets home opener, on Oct. 22, are now on sale at the Utica Memorial Auditorium box office and online through Ticketmaster. For more information, call 315-790-9070 or visit http://www.uticacomets.com .

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Comets Assign Three to Kalamazoo Wings

Ryan Jones Signs PTO with Comets

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October 9, 2014 - American Hockey League (AHL) Utica Comets Utica Comets Director of Hockey Operations Pat Conacher has announced that three players have been assigned to the Comets ECHL affiliate, the Kalamazoo Wings. The Vancouver Canucks have reassigned forwards Alex Mallet and Dane Fox from Utica to Kalamazoo while forward Curtis Valk has been signed to an AHL contract by Utica and assigned to the Wings.

Mallet, 22, spent last season in Utica and logged five points in 59 games with the Comets. Originally selected by the Canucks in the second round (#57 overall) in 2012, Mallet is entering his third professional season.

Fox, 20, is entering his first professional season after being named the Ontario Hockey League's Player of the Year following the 2013-14 season. He led the league in goals with 64 and finished second in points with 107. Fox played five seasons in the OHL and was signed by the Canucks as a free agent on Dec. 28, 2013.

Valk, 21, attended training camp with the Vancouver Canucks and has been signed to an AHL contract by the Comets. Last season, Valk completed his Western Hockey League career with 92 points (47 goals, 45 assists) in 72 games for the Medicine Hat Tigers.

The Comets open the season on Saturday at 3 p.m. against the Toronto Marlies. Video streaming of the game will be available through http://www.ahllive.com while radio coverage will be provided by 94.9 K-ROCK.

Tickets to the Comets home opener, on Oct. 22, are now on sale at the Utica Memorial Auditorium box office and online through Ticketmaster. For more information, call 315-790-9070 or visit http://www.uticacomets.com.

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Ryan Jones Signs PTO with Comets

Janssen Submits Application Seeking Approval Of STELARA In European Union For Pediatric Plaque Psoriasis

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BEERSE, Belgium, Oct. 10, 2014 /PRNewswire/ --Janssen-Cilag International NV (Janssen) announced today that a Type II Variation has been filed with the European Medicines Agency seeking approval of STELARA (ustekinumab) for the treatment of moderate to severe plaque psoriasis in pediatric patients ages 12 to 17 years old who are inadequately controlled by, or are intolerant to, other systemic therapies or phototherapies.

There currently are limited options for this population in the European Union. In general, children living with moderate to severe psoriasis must contend with a potentially disfiguring and lifelong disease that can permanently impair psychological development.1

"Janssen is committed to the continued development of STELARA, especially in this underserved pediatric population," said Newman Yeilding, M.D., Head of Immunology Development, Janssen Research & Development, LLC. "We look forward to collaborating with the European Medicines Agency in working towards providing a new treatment option for dermatologists and pediatric patients 12 years and older who may benefit from STELARA."

The application is supported by data from the Phase 3 CADMUS registration study, which evaluated the efficacy and safety, as well as improvements in quality of life, among adolescents (pediatric patients ages 12 to 17) receiving STELARA compared with patients receiving placebo.

About CADMUS CADMUS, a Phase 3, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel, multicenter trial, evaluated the efficacy and safety of STELARA in pediatric patients ages 12 to 17 years with moderate to severe plaque psoriasis. Patients (N=110) had been diagnosed more than six months prior to first study agent administration with a Psoriasis Area Severity Index (PASI) score greater than or equal to 12, a Physician's Global Assessment (PGA) score greater than or equal to 3 and body surface area (BSA) involvement of at least 10 percent. In addition, patients were inadequately controlled with topical therapy or were candidates for systemic/phototherapy.

Patients were randomized 1:1:1 to receive subcutaneous placebo, STELARA standard dosing (SD) [intended to achieve exposures comparable to adults] or STELARA half standard dosing (HSD) [intended to achieve exposures half of those seen in adults]. STELARA dosing tiers were determined by body weight. Patients receiving placebo crossed over to receive STELARA SD or HSD at weeks 12 and 16; all patients continued with maintenance dosing every 12 weeks through week 40. Final efficacy and safety evaluations were made at weeks 52 and 60, respectively. The primary endpoint of the study was a PGA score of cleared (0) or minimal (1) at week 12. Secondary endpoints at week 12 included at least a 75 or 90 percent improvement in psoriatic skin lesions, as measured by PASI 75 or PASI 90, and improvement in quality of life, as measured by the Children's Dermatology Life Quality Index (CDLQI) [patient-reported outcome].

About Psoriasis Psoriasis, a chronic, immune-mediated disease that results from the overproduction of skin cells, affects 125 million people worldwide, including 14 millionEuropeans.2-6 Plaque psoriasis often results in patches of thick, red or inflamed skin covered with silvery scales known as plaques. These plaques can crack and bleed, and may occur anywhere on the body. The disease symptoms can range from mild, to moderate, to severe and disabling.7 It is estimated that nearly 3 percent of the world's population is living with psoriasis and nearly one-quarter of those people have cases that are considered moderate to severe.2 Although the disease can present at any age, approximately one-third of people who develop psoriasis are under the age of 20 when the disease first surfaces.8 Prevalence in childhood and adolescence varies by region, ranging from 0.5 to 2 percent of the general population.1

About STELARA (ustekinumab)STELARA, a human interleukin (IL)-12 and IL-23 antagonist, is currently approved in 79 countries for the treatment of moderate to severe plaque psoriasis. IL-12 and IL-23 are naturally occurring proteins that are believed to play a role in immune-mediated inflammatory diseases, including psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis.

In the European Union, STELARA is approved for the treatment of moderate to severe plaque psoriasis in adults who failed to respond to, or who have a contraindication to, or are intolerant to other systemic therapies including ciclosporin, methotrexate (MTX) or PUVA (psoralen plus UVA). STELARA is also approved alone or in combination with MTX for the treatment of active psoriatic arthritis in adult patients when the response to previous non-biological disease-modifying antirheumatic drug (DMARD) therapy has been inadequate.

Janssen Biotech, Inc. discovered and developed STELARA, and the Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies maintain exclusive worldwide marketing rights to STELARA.

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Janssen Submits Application Seeking Approval Of STELARA In European Union For Pediatric Plaque Psoriasis

Ireland, home of adventure capitalism

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Ireland has proven to be a major hit, with some of the biggest adventure travel specialists in the world heaping praise on the country.

This week saw Killarney in Co Kerry host the prestigious Adventure Travel World Summit a gathering of the biggest names in the travel industry.

Some 700 delegates kayaked, climbed and cycled around many of the best outdoors venues in Ireland with many tweeting and posting images of their travels all over the world.

Its the first time the event has been held in Ireland and promises to be a huge boost to Irelands growing adventure travel market.

Filte Ireland estimates that the direct economic impact from hosting the summit would be in the region of 1m, along with the significant marketing, industry education and global networking value it will also provide.

The global world adventure travel market is estimated to be worth almost $90bn and around 852m here in Ireland.

Nathan Borchelt, senior product manager for travel and adventure with National Geographic, said Ireland was moving beyond the clichs of pubs and friendly people.

No matter how much time Ive spent in Ireland, its clear that its not enough, said Nathan.

The country exceeds every known clich the pubs and the rolling hills and the kind-hearted people and the Guinness.

But, as a landscape for adventure, it feels like Ireland is defining a whole new part to its already-rich persona.

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Ireland, home of adventure capitalism

Super Typhoon Vongfong Menaces Okinawa and Mainland Japan

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Zoomed in view of Super Typhoon Vongfong from the VIIRS instrument on the Suomi NPP satellite on Oct. 9, 2014.

Image: NASA/NOAA

By Andrew Freedman2014-10-09 21:11:04 UTC

Super Typhoon Vongfong, which became the most powerful tropical cyclone of the year earlier this week, has taken a turn to the north, on a course that will take its core of ferocious winds and high waves perilously close to Okinawa and then on toward the mainland Japanese island of Kyushu this weekend. As of 4 p.m. ET, the storm had maximum sustained winds of 150 miles per hour, making it a Category 4 storm, and just barely meeting the minimum standard to be called a "super" typhoon.

It will likely lose the latter distinction by early Friday morning eastern time.

Satellite imagery shows a well-organized storm, though, with an eye that has varied between 30 to 50 miles wide at times. Vongfong is forecast to pass near or over the island of Okinawa on Saturday as a Category 3 storm, posing a significant threat to U.S. military personnel stationed there. The storm will then move north-northeast, toward making landfall in Kyushu on Sunday afternoon or evening eastern time, most likely as a Category 1 or 2 storm.

Super Typhoon Vongfong as seen from the International Space Station on Oct. 9, 2014.

Image: Reid Wiseman/Twitter

The biggest threat to the mainland of Japan will not come in the form of strong winds, though wind damage is quite likely across southern Japan, Okinawa, and the Ryukyu islands. Instead, the biggest danger will be in the form of water. Typhoon Vongfong will be making landfall just one week after Typhoon Phanfone struck the country, dropping anywhere from six to 20 inches of rain in many areas. Because the ground is so saturated from that storm, the slower-moving Vongfong poses a major flood threat, particularly in Japan's mountainous areas.

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Super Typhoon Vongfong Menaces Okinawa and Mainland Japan

Scientists Coax Human Embryonic Stem Cells Into Making Insulin

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Insulin is produced by the green cells that are in clusters about the same size as the islets in the human pancreas. The red cells are producing another metabolic hormone, glucagon, that prevents low blood sugar. Harvard University hide caption

Insulin is produced by the green cells that are in clusters about the same size as the islets in the human pancreas. The red cells are producing another metabolic hormone, glucagon, that prevents low blood sugar.

A team of Harvard scientists said Thursday that they had finally found a way to turn human embryonic stem cells into cells that produce insulin. The long-sought advance could eventually lead to new ways to help millions of people with diabetes.

Right now, many people with diabetes have to regularly check the level of sugar in their blood and inject themselves with insulin to keep the sugar in their blood in check. It's an imperfect treatment.

"This is kind of a life-support for diabetics," says Doug Melton, a stem-cell researcher at Harvard Medical School. "It doesn't cure the disease and leads to devastating complications of the disease."

People with poorly controlled diabetes can suffer complications such as blindness, amputations and heart attacks.

Researchers have had some success transplanting insulin-producing cells from cadavers into people with diabetes. But it's been difficult to procure enough cells to treat large numbers of patients. So scientists have been trying to figure out how they could get more cells more easily.

For Melton, who led the work at Harvard, this has been a personal quest. His son, Sam, was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes when he was 6 months old, and his daughter, Emma, was diagnosed with the disease when she was 14.

"I do what any parent would do, which is to say, 'I'm not going to put up with this, and I want to find a better way,' " he says.

And now Melton and his colleagues are reporting in a paper being published in this week's issue of the journal Cell that they think they have finally found that better way.

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Scientists Coax Human Embryonic Stem Cells Into Making Insulin

Maplewood's Benedictine Center seeks spiritual art

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On the second floor, two nuns pass the entryway at the top of the spiral staircase of the Benedictine Monastery in Maplewood. (Pioneer Press file photo) (Staff)

The Benedictine Center in Maplewood is asking local artists to think creatively about their spirituality.

The center will host its fourth annual Juried Art Show this winter and is accepting submissions from area artists until Jan. 14, according to the center.

Called Seeing God, the works are meant to examine artists' experience of divinity. The various interpretations will be displayed from Jan. 29 through March 6.

Awards totaling $375 will be given to the top three winners.

Contest rules, guidelines and entry forms can be found at http://www.stpaulsmonastery.org. Click on the Benedictine Center tab followed by "Art and Spirituality."

Inquiries can be made by phone at 651-777-7251 or via email at benedictinecenter@stpaulsmonastery.org.

The Benedictine Center is located inside St. Paul's Monastery.

Its "Seeing God" show has attracted more than 100 local artists in its four-year history.

Sarah Horner can be reached at 651-228-5539. Follow her at twitter.com/hornsarah.

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Maplewood's Benedictine Center seeks spiritual art

A journey from private school to ashram to boardroom

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Joshua M. Greene Joshua M. Greene, a documentary film maker, author of acclaimed books and adjunct professor of Religious Studies, Hofstra University, will speak at the Ethical Humanist Society of Long Island, 38 Old Country Road, Garden City, on October 19 at 11 am.

What he learned in India that connected his Ethical Culture Fieldston private school education to his life today as a filmmaker and corporate executive.

The New York Times describes Joshua Greene as "a storyteller who traces journeys to enlightenment." After thirteen years in Hindu ashrams, he returned to the U.S. and began a career as educator, author and filmmaker. His books include Witness: Voices from the Holocaust; Justice at Dachau; and Here Comes the Sun: The Spiritual and Musical Journey of George Harrison.

Mr. Greene is a documentary filmmaker and Adjunct Professor of Religious Studies at Hofstra University. The New York Times describes him as "a storyteller who traces journeys to enlightenment." In 1982, after twelve years in Hindu monasteries, he returned to the U.S. and produced a series of Emmy award-nominated children's films for The Disney Channel. In 1995 he became Director of Programming for Cablevision, the nation's fifth largest cable provider. From 1999 to 2002 he served as Senior Vice President at Ruder Finn, New York's largest public relations firm, where he advised faith communities on their role in peacekeeping initiatives.

In 2000 Mr. Greene was appointed Director of Strategic Planning for the United Nations Peace Summit of Religious and Spiritual Leaders. Since then, he has authored several acclaimed books including Witness: Voices from the Holocaust (Simon & Schuster), which he produced as a feature film for PBS; Justice at Dachau (Random House), the story of the largest yet least known series of Nazi trials in history, produced as a shortform documentary for Discovery; Here Comes the Sun (John Wiley), a bestselling biography of George Harrison; and Gita Wisdom: An Introduction to India's Essential Yoga Text (Mandala Publishing). His editorials on war crimes tribunals have run in the International Herald Tribune and in numerous U.S. periodicals.

Greene teaches a popular weekly philosophy series at Jivamukti Yoga School in New York. He sits on the boards of the American Jewish Committee, the Holocaust Memorial and Educational Center of Nassau County, and the Coalition for Quality Children's Media. He lives with his wife on Long Island.

The Ethical Society is located at the western end of Old Country Road, next to the blue water tower.

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A journey from private school to ashram to boardroom