Astronomy enthusiasts to meet in Blaine County

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GEARY The Oklahoma City Astronomy Club invites the public to share views of a rare event at their Blaine County observatory Saturday night.

Astronomy club members will gather at the club's Cheddar Ranch Observatory to view the supernova and other objects including Jupiter and a number of galaxies.

Club members will meet visitors from the public at the Cherokee Truck Stop at Exit 108 on Interstate 40 at its junction with U.S. 281 south of Geary at 5 p.m. Saturday to escort them to the observatory, which features a spacious building, according to a news release.

Participants are advised to dress warmly in several layers, though Saturday temperatures are predicted to be milder than in recent days.

Astronomers in several locations detected a new supernova explosion in the nearby galaxy M 82 early in the week, and the exploded star has been brightening steadily for several days, promising a rare show this weekend for those with telescopes. Neither the supernova nor its home galaxy can be seen with the naked eye.

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Astronomy enthusiasts to meet in Blaine County

OKC Astronomy Club Hosts Stellar Explosion Public Viewing In Watonga

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WATONGA, Oklahoma -

The Oklahoma City Astronomy Club will host a public viewing of a stellar explosion this Saturday night in Blaine County.

Earlier this week, astronomers detected a new supernova explosion in M 82, a nearby galaxy close to the Milky Way galaxy.

The last supernova to travel this close to Earth was at least 1993. The brightness of a supernova is based on its magnitude. The lower the magnitude number, the brighter the object will be. Astronomers have rated the new supernova at less than magnitude 12 with a potential to brighten to magnitude eight or nine. With a low magnitude number, the stellar blast will be easy to view through telescopes.

The public is invited to join the OKC Astronomy Club members at the Cheddar Ranch Observatory in Watonga, Oklahoma. The public will have the opportunity to share views on the stellar explosion, as well as Jupiter and other galaxies.

Public attendees have been asked to meet at 5 p.m. Saturday at the Cherokee Truck Stop at exit 108 on I-40 at the US-281 junction. Club members will meet and escort public attendees to the observatory.

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OKC Astronomy Club Hosts Stellar Explosion Public Viewing In Watonga

Osmar Zaiane Artificial Intelligence Part I Tech and Future of Medicine Course Winter 2014 – Video

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Osmar Zaiane Artificial Intelligence Part I Tech and Future of Medicine Course Winter 2014
Dr. Osmar Zaiane presents Problems and Perils of AI Part I on January 21, 2014 in the Technology and Future of Medicine course at the University of Alberta i...

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Osmar Zaiane Artificial Intelligence Part I Tech and Future of Medicine Course Winter 2014 - Video

UND aerospace school plans new building

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GRAND FORKS The University of North Dakota aerospace school aims to break ground this spring on a new building, with the goal of attracting businesses that want to be part of the universitys growing aerospace research and development conglomerate.

Bruce Smith, dean of the John D. Odegard School of Aerospace Sciences, called it a nice statement about the good things that have happened at the school.

Some of the new space will provide a secure area for research into unmanned aircraft systems and other projects that need security, according to state documents. Other space will house research facilities for air traffic control, Smith said.

Total cost for what has been tabbed the Center for Aerospace Innovation and Research, could be as high as $25 million, UND officials told state lawmakers last year. But Smith said Friday that the cost could be trimmed and most of it will be privately raised.

The proposed 65,000-square-foot building will be connected to Ryan Hall on the far west end of campus.

Ownership of the building will be under the UND Aerospace Foundation, a private nonprofit group formed to help the Odegard school grow, state documents say. Operating costs will be paid by the university using existing funds and any funds raised through research activities in the building.

So far, the Aerospace Foundation has been promised a $7.5 million gift over three years from a couple involved in an aviation-related company, who, while not UND alumni, are big fans of the university, Smith said. He declined to divulge their names.

The foundation is providing another $3.5 million of its own funds.

So we have $11 million, cash in the bank, for that building, Smith said. Right now, we are trying to figure out just how big a building we can have.

Some money from the states Education Challenge Fund could be involved. Last year, the Legislature created the fund to match private donations, with the state paying $1 for every $2 donated with a cap of $10 million for UND. Earlier this month, the UND Foundation announced that it had raised enough to get a $3.3 million match.

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UND aerospace school plans new building

REVIEW: Insaan, aye Insaan! by Hasan Manzar – DAWN.COM

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Insaan, aye Insaan! by Hasan Manzar is a well-paced novel with an intriguing coming-of-age plot. It begins when the eight-year-old protagonist, Tilmeez, is sent to the strict and stifling environment of his eldest sisters house, to live with her religious husband and their children. The purpose of the move, away from the warmth of his mothers love and his other siblings, is to prevent him from waywardness. The result turns out to be completely opposite. A life of rebellious resentment, for being thrown out of his home, and resultant excesses unfolds, leading to crimes and imprisonments. The novel is a stream of consciousness review and analysis of his own life when he is on the death row, before an unexpected ending.

What makes Tilmeezs character engaging is the realism of his irrational and destructive behaviour. The subsequent shattered relationships and alienation make life increasingly difficult and unhappy for him, providing impetus to his character. And while the characters of most of Tilmeezs tormentors his father, brother-in-law and older sister tend to be flat, the main characters are mostly lively and multidimensional, close to life. They are complete with contradictions, with strengths and weaknesses, virtues and vices.

Although dates are not mentioned in the novel, the period in which the story is set appears to be, roughly, from the early 1940s to the mid-1960s. The social, political and cultural background of the narrative is remarkably detailed, adding substance to the plot and characters. Pre-Partition northern India, the freedom struggle, the conditions that drove people to leave their ancestral homes and settled communities, as well as resettlement in a new country, are depicted minutely. We see how families and communities are devastated, and reconstitute, providing a touching account of life during the years before and after Independence.

Manzar has an unusual propensity for describing places in clearly recognisable countries and cities, but without actually naming them. This lack of naming seems to allow the readers broader and unbiased room to relish the characters and plot developments.

Historical facts as well as myths about Partition are admirably portrayed by Manzar, providing insight into relationships between characters belonging to different ethnicities who are all affected by the events. Manzar has also effectively highlighted the trauma, destitution, as well as the opportunism that emerged among those who resettled on both sides of the border, particularly the unnamed Pakistan, during the early post-Partition years. We are reminded of the now forgotten social presence, influence and status of the British colonisers and their families in the subcontinent.

An interesting dimension of Insaan, aye Insaan! is the language Manzar uses. From a heavy content of Hindi and old Urdu, it gradually evolves into contemporary lingo as the story progresses chronologically. Compared to other reputed Urdu novels set in a similar time setting, for instance Abdullah Husseins Udaas Naslain that exudes the influence of the English language in its expression, or Alipur ka Ailee by Mumtaz Mufti that conveys a strong Punjabi texture, Insaan, aye Insaan offers an opportunity to savour the native vintage diction and syntax of Urdu prose.

The debate about religion, faith and the existence of God is explored in detail, particularly through the central character who swings between agnosticism, atheism and belief.

Insaan, aye Insaan! is a panoramic novel. Human nature, social dynamics, historical events, philosophic questions and their influence on lives combine to make this lengthy and meticulously written novel an important book. All this, despite occasional distractions caused by shifts between third person and first person narrations, and a few repetitions. And although the overall feel of the novel may be termed gloomy, a sprinkling of wit and humour can be found off and on.

Insaan, aye Insaan! is a detailed account of a life, a fictional biography in which the author seems to be, arguably, pointing out that we are fallible and predestined to remain so.

Insaan, aye Insaan!

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REVIEW: Insaan, aye Insaan! by Hasan Manzar - DAWN.COM

Agnosticism – AllAboutPhilosophy.org

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You are here: Philosophy >> Learn More About Agnostics! >> Agnosticism

What is agnosticism?

The term agnosticism raises questions in many philosophy discussions. When the conversation turns to religion, many state their position with terms like skeptic, atheist, or agnostic. After reading this primer on agnosticism and examining what you believe, youll be better prepared to intelligently join the debate.

What does agnostic mean? The term agnostic is derived from two Greek words: a, meaning no, and gnosis, meaning knowledge. Literally an agnostic is a person who claims to have no knowledge. Often agnostics apply this lack of knowledge to the existence of God. In this case, an agnostic is one who does not affirm or deny the existence of God.

What does an agnostic really believe? There are two basic forms of agnosticism. The weak form claims that God is not known. This view holds onto the possibility that God may be known. The strong form of agnosticism claims that God is unknowable. This form says God cannot be known by anyone.

Two other types with respect to the ability to know God are limited and unlimited agnosticism. Limited agnosticism holds that God is partially unknowable. It is possible to know some things, but not everything, about God. Unlimited agnosticism, however, claims that God is completely unknowable. It says that it is impossible to know anything about God.

Foundations of agnosticism The two most influential thinkers to advance the philosophy of agnosticism were David Hume (1711-1976) and Immanuel Kant (1724-1804). While Hume was technically a skeptic, his arguments inevitably lead to agnosticism.

At the heart of David Humes ideas was his claim that there are only two kinds of meaningful statements. He wrote in his Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding:

If we take into our hands any volume, of divinity or school metaphysics for instance, does it contain any abstract reasoning concerning quantity or number? No. Does it contain any experimental reasoning concerning matter of fact and existence? No. Commit it then to the flames, for it can contain nothing but sophistry and illusion.

Unless a statement is either a relation of ideas or a matter of fact, it is meaningless. Since statements about the knowledge of God are outside of these two categories, God is essentially unknowable.

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Stem-cell company in crisis

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PROFESSOR MIODRAG STOJKOVIC/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY

Advanced Cell Technology is running the only US trials of embryonic-stem-cell therapies.

Advanced Cell Technology (ACT), a biotechnology company based in Marlborough, Massachusetts, has long flirted with fame and bankruptcy.

The company is running the only US Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved clinical trials of embryonic stem (ES)-cell therapies. Later this month, ACT plans to report preliminary results from three trials to test the safety of its treatment for two different forms of vision loss. If all goes well, it could be the first clinical demonstration of the safety and perhaps also the therapeutic potential of ES cells.

Yet a series of financial missteps could cost ACT the opportunity to see that potential become reality. On 22 January, the firm announced that its chief executive, Gary Rabin, was stepping down. The news came a month after ACT which had US$5.5 million in cash on-hand as of 30 September 2013 announced that it would pay $4 million to settle a Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) charge alleging that the company had illegally sold billions of shares of stock.

Thats a big hit for any biotechnology company, says Gregory Bonfiglio, a venture capitalist with Proteus Venture Partners in Portola Valley, California. This is a very painful time for them.

ACT is accustomed to the pain: it has been running on fumes for years and has repeatedly skirted bankruptcy. The company announced this week that it aims to begin the next round of its clinical trials in the second half of 2014. But its last quarterly statement, which covered the period ending 30 September, revealed that the company had only enough funds to last into the second half of 2014. ACT spokesman David Schull says that the firm is exploring all financing options and plans to expand its clinical operations to accommodate the upcoming trials.

That financing may have to carry ACT through additional legal charges. The settlement with the Securities and Exchange Commission was just one of a string of cases ACT has handled over the past few years as it dealt with the legacy left by the fundraising schemes of its previous chief executive, William Caldwell. One such case is still pending, and the SEC has launched a separate investigation of Rabin for distributing stock without reporting it to the SEC in a timely fashion.

More recently, on 2 January, the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF) sued ACT for breach of contract. WARF, which handles patents and licensing for the University of Wisconsin, holds a number of key ES-cell patents, and ACT struck a licensing deal with the foundation in 2007. The case has been sealed, and lawyers representing WARF did not respond immediately to requests for comment.

ACT may soon have company in the clinic. The London Project to Cure Blindness has been developing an ES cellderived therapy to treat age-related macular degeneration, a leading form of vision loss in people aged 50 and older.

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Stem-cell company in crisis

Happy Valley Animal Hospital of Arizona Pet Vet Helps a Local Pet Start the New Year with the Resolution; Play More

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Glendale, Arizona (PRWEB) January 24, 2014

Floppy, a nine year old Dachshund, struggled to get up from a laying position before his recent stem cell therapy at Happy Valley Animal Hospital. The pain from arthritis was so bad he was reluctant to move much at all, even when encouraged by his family. This holiday season Floppys owners gifted him with quality of life. Now hes bringing in the New Year with less pain and more ability to run and play again.

Floppy had been suffering from osteoarthritis in his hips and knees long enough that it was affecting other joints in his hind end. He had difficulty getting up after sitting, limped, and exhibited stiffness. Happy Valley Animal Hospitals Dr. Victor Saltzman determined Floppy was a great candidate for stem cell therapy using Vet-Stem services, and in early December scheduled Floppy for a small fat tissue collection to start the process. Floppys fat was overnighted to Vet-Stems lab in San Diego, California where it was processed into injectable doses of Floppys own stem cells. In 48 hours Dr. Saltzman received the doses back and had started Floppy on his way to recovery.

We are extremely pleased with the results. The level of pain and stiffness has decreased dramatically. Its almost like hes a puppy again! There is a night and day difference in his ability to move around and perform everyday tasks. He will occasionally get sore after a long day of activity, but its 1000% better than before his stem cell therapy, the Sobols.

Just two weeks after the stem cell injections Dr. Saltzman and the team at Happy Valley Animal Hospital received a video of Floppy running happily around the backyard, enjoying his recovered range of motion and obvious lack of pain. Although results can vary, the first peer reviewed double-blinded multicenter study for adipose-derived (fat originating) stem cell therapy use in osteoarthritis of the hip in dogs showed positive results for lameness, pain, and range of motion. Similar results have been obtained for elbows and stifles in dogs, of which stifles were a secondary area of arthritis and pain for Floppy.

Stem cells decrease pain and inflammation. Stem cells are multi-potent and can differentiate into tendon, ligament, bone, cartilage, and other tissue. The hope is that Floppys stem cells will also regenerate tissues in the joints that are causing him pain.

Vet-Stem, Inc. was formed in 2002 to bring regenerative medicine to the veterinary profession. The privately held company is working to develop therapies in veterinary medicine that apply regenerative technologies while utilizing the natural healing properties inherent in all animals. As the first company in the United States to provide an adipose-derived stem cell service to veterinarians for their patients, Vet-Stem, Inc. pioneered the use of regenerative stem cells in veterinary medicine. For more on Vet-Stem, Inc. and Veterinary Regenerative Medicine visit http://www.vet-stem.com.

About Happy Valley Animal Hospital The goal of the team at Happy Valley Animal Hospital is to provide compassionate, preventive, and top quality medical and surgical veterinary care. With the most up-to-date equipment, the team at Happy Valley Animal Hospital can provide clients and their pets in the local community with the best healthcare and service possible. By offering and maintaining these goals, the team at Happy Valley Animal Hospital hopes to enhance the lives of their clients by allowing their pets to live long, happy lives. As a team, Happy Valley Animal Hospital always considers the client perspective and tries to put themselves in their shoes or paws.

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Happy Valley Animal Hospital of Arizona Pet Vet Helps a Local Pet Start the New Year with the Resolution; Play More

High-Intensity Strength Training Shows Benefit for Parkinson’s Patients

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Newswise BIRMINGHAM, Ala. Researchers at the University of Alabama at Birmingham say that high-intensity strength training produced significant improvements in quality of life, mood and motor function in older patients with Parkinsons disease. The findings were published Jan. 9 online in the Journal of Applied Physiology.

Fifteen subjects with moderate Parkinsons underwent 16 weeks of high-intensity resistance training combined with interval training designed to simultaneously challenge strength, power, endurance, balance and mobility function. Before and after the 16 weeks, the subjects were compared to age-matched controls who did not have Parkinsons and did not undergo the exercise regimen.

We saw improvements in strength, muscle size and power, which we expected after rigorous weight training; but we also saw improvement in balance and muscle control, said Marcas Bamman, Ph.D., professor in the Department of Cell, Developmental and Integrative Biology and lead author of the study. We also saw improvement in cognition, mood and sense of well-being.

Parkinsons disease is a debilitating, neurodegenerative disease that dramatically affects mobility function and quality of life. Patients often experience weakness, low muscle power and fatigue.

Bamman, who heads the UAB Center for Exercise Medicine, devised a strenuous exercise regimen for the participants. Subjects performed three sets of eight to 12 repetitions of a variety of strength training exercises, such as leg or overhead presses, with a one-minute interval between sets for high-repetition, bodyweight exercises, such as lunges or pushups.

We pushed these patients throughout the exercise period, said Neil Kelly, M.A., a graduate student trainee and first author of the study. We used a heart rate monitor to measure exercise intensity keeping the heart rate high through the entire 40-minute session.

Bamman says this was the first study of its kind to look at the biology of the muscles. Biopsies of muscle tissue were collected before and after the 16 weeks.

We found favorable changes in skeletal muscle at the cellular and subcellular levels that are associated with improvements in motor function and physical capacity, Bamman said.

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High-Intensity Strength Training Shows Benefit for Parkinson's Patients