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SARNIA - Lake Huron beaches that had been closed along the Michigan shoreline because of a diesel spill last week have reopened.
The 33.5-metre Arthur J dredge barge and a smaller tugboat sank near Lakeport State Park, Mich., early Thursday morning, about 15 kilometres north of Sarnia. The vessels leaked an estimated 5,700 to 7,500 litres of diesel fuel.
Coast Guard crews recovered the sunken tugboat Madison from the water early Saturday and reopened the beaches there. MCM Marine is working to clean up the oil sheen.
No impacts on wildlife have been reported and no health risks are expected, officials said.
Sarnia Observer
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Lakeport— St. Clair County authorities have reopened four beaches that were closed because of afresh oil leak from a barge and tugboat that sank in Lake Huron.
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U.S. Naval Research Laboratory scientists from the Radio Astrophysics and Sensing Section of the Remote Sensing Division in conjunction with radio astronomers and engineers from the National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO), Socorro, N.M., achieve "First Light" image, May 1, 2012, at frequencies below 1-gigahertz (GHz) on the Jansky Very Large Array (JVLA).
Through the combined expertise of NRL and NRAO scientists and engineers, a new, modern, wide-band receiver system has been developed and is being deployed onboard the JVLA to enable much more sensitive observations over a much broader frequency range extending from 50 megahertz to 500 megahertz (MHz).
Using the first five of the 27 new very high-frequency (VHF) receivers successfully brought into operation, astronomer Dr. Frazer Owen, NRAO, reached an important milestone, mapping the radio sky at 337 MHz.
"The use of over 100 megahertz of bandwidth in the first image is a dramatic illustration of the breakthrough to instantaneous wideband systems at frequencies below one gigahertz," said Dr. Namir Kassim, section head, NRL Radio Astrophysics Section. "This represents a poorly explored part of the electromagnetic spectrum that is important for ionospheric and astrophysical research and to the Navy's mission for navigation and communications."
This demonstration of interferometric imaging is a key milestone. It is strong verification that the new receivers have the sensitivity, stability, and coherence critical to the needs of the international radio and space science communities, with key benefits for both astronomical and ionospheric science applications.
Although not yet at full capability, by summer 2013 all 27 of the 25-meter telescopes of the JVLA will be outfitted with the new receivers.
In 2011, an upgrade to the receivers on the JVLA sacrificed the observatory's capability for operation at VHF frequencies between 30 MHz and 300 MHz, a shortcoming for the JVLA but a decision made necessary by complex technical and fiscal constraints.
"The loss of low-frequency capability to the world's most powerful radio telescope was a set-back not only to the radio research community, but to continued astrophysics and ionospheric work critical to the needs of Navy communications and navigation," says Dr. Tracy Clarke, NRL radio astronomer.
"With the new greatly improved receivers and the demonstration that they work well with the JVLA, scientists are once again able to explore with greater veracity the low-frequency radio bands for high sensitivity astrophysics and high accuracy ionospheric research."
At present, the lack of detailed understanding of the structure of the ionosphere has been a major limiting factor in the ultimate accuracy of GPS measurements, even in times of a relatively quiet ionosphere.
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Scientists Bring Low Frequency, 'First Light' to the Jansky Very Large Array
Online courses are experiencing sky-high dropout rates, and that's probably a good thing.
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Last summer, when Stanford announced its free, online artificial intelligence course, much of the attention celebrated just how *many* people would be able to partake of the intellectual delights normally reserved for the Stanford student body. "Virtual and Artificial, but 58,000 Want Course," the New York Times announced. The story led, "A free online course at Stanford University on artificial intelligence, to be taught this fall by two leading experts from Silicon Valley, has attracted more than 58,000 students around the globe -- a class nearly four times the size of Stanford's entire student body."
The number of those enrolled would eventually top out at 160,000 students, and other online courses followed suit, trumpeting one by one the massive numbers of people wanting to get in on the goods.
But the massive enrollment numbers have not been trailed by massive completion rates. About 35,000 people (or a little more than 20 percent) finished Stanford's AI course. The Times today notes that the debut course of MIT's experiment in free online education had a similar experience. "Of the 154,763 who registered for 'Circuits and Electronics,' fewer than half even got as far as looking at the first problem set, and only 7,157 passed the course," says Tamar Lewin in an interview with MIT's Anant Agarwal. Likewise, UC Berkeley professor David Patterson said that 3,500 people of 50,000 registered passed his online course. Across the board, online classes (or MOOCs, as they are sometimes called, meaning Massive Open Online Courses) are seeing consistently high drop-out rates.
But don't be disappointed! This is just as it should be. On their own, these statistics tell us little about the efficacy or quality of online learning. They tell us even less about how these experiments will or will not remake the face of American higher education. What they do tell us is that lots of people are aspirational learners -- a fact we should celebrate in its own right -- and that the bar for passing these courses is high enough that many will not make it to the end.
This is, in some ways, exactly why MOOCs are exciting. The bar for entry is so low that anyone with a passing interest can check it out -- quite unlike America's rarefied and costly system of higher education. Similarly, the costs of leaving are low, and people who don't have the time, find its not quite right for them, or just plain aren't so interested after all can leave with few consequences. If anything, the low rate of success is a sign of the system's efficiency.
Certainly if our education system had MOOCs at its core, we might worry about the big numbers of people flaking or failing out. We might see to it that students on the cusp of quitting had extra resources and help, that people didn't just struggle and give up. But for now, that's not the case at all. These courses are still in their infancy, and many pople are seeking them out just to see just what exactly a MOOC is, how it works, and maybe hear a lecture or two by an MIT or Stanford great.
So for now, all praise the MOOC dropout, our best indication yet of system just beginning to find its footing.
More From The Atlantic
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Overblown-Claims-of-Failure Watch: How Not to Gauge the Success of Online Courses
Mon, Jul 23, 2012
Located in the high desert of Albuquerque, New Mexico, SANDIA Aerospace was founded in 1997 by a group of avionics professionals to provide high quality avionics products to General, Corporate and Regional airline markets.
Major product offerings include the company's STX 165 Transponder with Built-in Encoder, SAE 5-35 Altitude Encoder, SAC 7-35 Airdata Computer, Avionics Cooling Fans, and MARC 70 interface modules. SANDIA products are offered worldwide by both avionics modification centers and aircraft manufactures.
Turbo charge your Garmin GNS430, GNS530 or other Navigation Systems with SANDIA Aerospace's SAC 7-35 Airdata Computer. The SAC 7-35 allows you to use all the features designed into these systems, making your flying safer and more economical. You'll quickly see SANDIA Aerospace innovation at work in the SAE5-35 Altitude Encoder. Designed by engineers that are also pilots, the SAE5-35 will surprise you with the well thought out pilot features.
One of the most recently-certified products is the STX 165 Mode A/C Transponder. Designed for GA airplanes with limited panel space, the STX 165 features a built-in encoder, which simplifies installations and lowers cost; three timer functions, pressure altitude display; and OAT probe input
Sandia Aerospace develops products from concept to certification and market, and works with numerous companies to further their product goals. They have the experience and know how to help you meet your company design and certification goals. Sandia's hardware engineers are proficient in Analog and Digital design and have extensive RF experience.
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Kiwis who want instant access to the secrets of their DNA may be disappointed, researchers have warned - but the future for those with rare diseases is far brighter.
Otago University student and former Wanaka farmer Steve Anderson wants to become the first New Zealander to have his full genetic coding recorded and given to him.
Anderson said he had been told the analysis of more than three billion pieces of information could be presented on about 30 compact discs.
The 57-year-old said his request was inspired by an interest in the ageing process and made possible by the steadily decreasing cost of genetic coding.
"If you think back years ago, it took millions of dollars to study one genome, now, it's only thousands of dollars, and you can do so much more."
Anderson said the data he collected could be put to good use in the future as the field of genetic research developed.
"Imagine if you could pull up your DNA coding, look at a certain expression of genes and use them to make you healthier, or know about something you're going to get in the future."
Auckland University associate professors Cristin Print and Andrew Shelling, who both work in the field of genetic research, said other Kiwis had had their genomes sequenced, but the scale of Anderson's request was unique.
Ordinary people who wanted revelations from their DNA were likely to be disappointed, they said.
While the mapping could be "life-changing" for those with rare diseases or families with genetic problems, Shelling said most people were unlikely to benefit significantly from the information.
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DNA access may bring only disappointment
A national database to help identify missing persons and unidentified remains is more than a year away, but families and experts say that DNA is the missing piece of the puzzle that the initiative needs.
Judy Peterson has been a proponent of such a database since her daughter, Lindsey Jill Nicholls, went missing in 1993.
I think the DNA databank is just the missing piece, she said from her home in Sidney, B.C. I believe it will happen, I just cant understand why its taking so long.
Peterson started a petition in 2003 called Lindseys Law, calling for DNA from missing persons and unidentified remains to be added to the National DNA Data Bank, which was set up in 2000 to help police with their investigations.
Melanie Alixs son Dylan Koshman went missing in Edmonton in October 2008 and she, too, has been petitioning the government for such an addition to the data bank.
Id give my life to find my son, she said from her home in Moose Jaw, Sask.
Alix and her husband gave DNA samples to police in Edmonton after her sons disappearance, but they were not accessible to law enforcement in other provinces because there is no national DNA database for missing persons and unidentified remains.
A new index called the National Centre for Missing Persons and Unidentified Remains would store descriptive information on these cases and allow for them to be compared nationally for the first time when it launches in late 2013, but it wont include DNA.
The federal government has been resistant to amending the National DNA Data Bank to include the thousands of missing persons and hundreds of unidentified bodies across the country. It cites privacy concerns and high costs.
Ray Boughen, Conservative MP from Saskatchewan, said that costs could be lowered if DNA from these cases was voluntarily incorporated into the existing database for convicted offenders and crime scenes.
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DNA not used in new database for missing persons and unidentified remains
ScienceDaily (July 21, 2012) In a breakthrough effort for computational biology, the world's first complete computer model of an organism has been completed, Stanford researchers reported last week in the journal Cell.
A team led by Markus Covert, assistant professor of bioengineering, used data from more than 900 scientific papers to account for every molecular interaction that takes place in the life cycle of Mycoplasma genitalium, the world's smallest free-living bacterium.
By encompassing the entirety of an organism in silico, the paper fulfills a longstanding goal for the field. Not only does the model allow researchers to address questions that aren't practical to examine otherwise, it represents a stepping-stone toward the use of computer-aided design in bioengineering and medicine.
"This achievement demonstrates a transforming approach to answering questions about fundamental biological processes," said James M. Anderson, director of the National Institutes of Health Division of Program Coordination, Planning and Strategic Initiatives. "Comprehensive computer models of entire cells have the potential to advance our understanding of cellular function and, ultimately, to inform new approaches for the diagnosis and treatment of disease."
The research was partially funded by an NIH Director's Pioneer Award from the National Institutes of Health Common Fund.
From information to understanding
Biology over the past two decades has been marked by the rise of high-throughput studies producing enormous troves of cellular information. A lack of experimental data is no longer the primary limiting factor for researchers. Instead, it's how to make sense of what they already know.
Most biological experiments, however, still take a reductionist approach to this vast array of data: knocking out a single gene and seeing what happens.
"Many of the issues we're interested in aren't single-gene problems," said Covert. "They're the complex result of hundreds or thousands of genes interacting."
This situation has resulted in a yawning gap between information and understanding that can only be addressed by "bringing all of that data into one place and seeing how it fits together," according to Stanford bioengineering graduate student and co-first author Jayodita Sanghvi.
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Researchers produce first complete computer model of an organism
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Does the inside of your chest feel like Dantes inferno? This scorching sensation, known as heartburn, plagues roughly 20 percent of Americans at least once a week.
Over time, chronic heartburn can develop into the more serious gastritis or esophagitis, in which the lining of the stomach or esophagus erodes and ulcerates.
If you want to put out the flames, try the following natural remedies so you can tell the heat to hit the road!
Sizzling Symptoms
Heartburn often appears after a meal and can last for several hours. When we eat, our stomach acid increases, so excessive food and liquid can increase stomach acid that backs up into your esophagus.
This creates a scalding sensation behind the breastbone, which is often accompanied by the following:
-- burning in the throat or a hot, sour, acidic taste at the back of the throat
-- difficulty swallowing
-- chronic cough, sore throat, or hoarseness Seek immediate help if you experience severe chest pain, especially when accompanied by jaw or arm pain, or difficulty breathing. What Lights Your Fire? Trigger Foods
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Dr. Mao's Wellness Living: Cooling The Burning Fire Of Heartburn
Phoenix, AZ (PRWEB) July 22, 2012
Human Anatomy and Physiology Course by Dr. James Ross is making a big impact in the medical community by teaching students and medical professionals alike how to master the human body in only three days.
The course is meant to help people quickly learn the key aspects of human anatomy and so far, program participants are experiencing great results.
"This is honestly the most impressive resource on anatomy and physiology ever," said Dr. Michael King, a medical teacher from Pennsylvania who just finished the course. "The level of details in the muscular module is simply fascinating."
Dr. Ross formulated the program for medical practitioners, students, educators, researchers, trainers, sports professionals, nurses and anyone else interested in learning how the human body works quickly.
The online anatomy course includes award-winning classes that were previously only offered to medical professionals. Every lesson - or module - ends with a summary of the key factors and a test, allowing participants to make sure they grasp every lesson.
"The illustrations an extensive lesson plans have been invaluable," said Rachel Kaushik, a nursing student at UNCW Nursing School. "It has provided me with a one-stop educational solution as a student."
Course participants say Dr. Ross' program is a great choice for anyone, even those who have no medical experience at all. Participants have more than 3,000 pages of material to work with, all formulated for easy understanding and retention.
For those that are ready to buy the program should visit the official site here.
Dr. Ross says anyone interested in anatomy and physiology courses should take a serious look at his product. The materials are the result of a lifetime of study and practice that explore the human body in a way that is easy for for beginners to understand with enough information to keep even the most seasoned experts engaged.
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Human Anatomy and Physiology Course Review Takes a Close Look at Popular Program
The NASA launch pad from which Apollo 11 lifted off for the first manned moon landing and Atlantis left Earth to fly the last space shuttle mission is now open to the public for tours.
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Next Stop, Launch Pad: NASA Opens Apollo, Shuttle Launch Site for Tours
22-07-2012 05:22 Dr. Anders Sandberg is a well known transhumanist, futurist, computational neuroscientist and currently a research fellow at the Future of Humanity Institute in Oxford University. I enjoyed talking to him last time he was on Singularity 1 on 1 and was happy to have him back for another one. During our second conversation with Anders we cover a wide variety of topics such as: transhumanism and the ethics thereof; the limits of being human; the Epic of Gilgamesh and our quest for immortality; overcoming death and enhancing life; life expectancy and our willingness to take risks; the potential for enhancement arms-races; the likelihood of armed conflict between transhumanists and neo-luddites; the most likely path to human enhancement; personal versus collective enhancement; hive-minds, distributed intelligence, the Borg and individulaity; post-humanism and mind uploading. My favorite quote that I will take away from this interview with Dr. Sandberg is: "That which does not kill us only makes us stranger." If you enjoy Singularity 1 on 1 please show your support: write a review on iTunes or make a donation.
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Public release date: 22-Jul-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Abbey Anderson aanderson@acponline.org 215-351-2656 American College of Physicians
1. FDA Panel Members Express Opposing Views on Truvanda Approval
In May, the FDA Antiviral Advisory Committee met to review evidence for the approval of two antiretroviral drugs, tenofovir and emtricitabine for pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) against HIV infection. Two members of the Committee explain why they voted for or against the approval. Judith Feinberg, MD, Professor of Medicine at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine and director of the University of Cincinnati AIDS Clinical Trials Unit, serves as chairperson of the FDA Antiviral Advisory Committee. She voted in favor of the approval. She explains that while the observation period for tenofovir-emtricitabine has been short, the outcomes and tolerability have been very good. Dr. Feinberg writes that PrEP is particularly important now that HIV is on the rise among young men who have sex with men. Over the past 30 years, HIV has killed 30 million people and infected 60 million. With hundreds of millions of people still at risk, and no vaccine available, PrEP may be the strategy that helps to turn the tide on HIV. Lauren V. Wood, MD, Staff Clinician at the National Cancer Institute and Assistant Professor at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences is also a member of the FDA Antiviral Advisory Committee. Dr. Wood voted against the approval for several reasons. First, Dr. Wood did not find consistent evidence of the benefit of PrEP, especially in women. Second, she expressed concern about low rate of adherence to the tenofovir-emtricitabine regimen. Since adherence is crucial to efficacy, she could not support approval. And finally, Dr. Wood cited safety concerns about PrEP dosing. And since no long-term studies have been done, the potential for the emergence and spread of drug resistant virus as a consequence of PrEP remains a concern.
2. With Drug Approval Comes Added Responsibility for Primary Care Docs
Prescribing antiretrovirals to uninfected individuals who are at high risk for HIV has shown promise at decreasing HIV incidence in some populations. Last week, the FDA approved oral tenofovir-emtricitabine for pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) for high-risk patients. According to HIV thought leaders, primary care physicians are likely to care for many at-risk individuals, and therefore must be fully informed about PrEP. The experts reviewed available literature to outline key areas of knowledge that can help physicians manage potential PrEP patients. According to the experts, it is imperative for primary care doctors to understand which patients would benefit from PrEP. PrEP has been proven most effective in HIV serodiscordant couples, men who have sex with men, and heterosexual men and women in Africa. Patients on PrEP need counseling to maximize adherence and minimize potential increases in risky behavior. They also must be monitored for potential drug toxicities, HIV acquisition, and antiretroviral drug resistance. While PrEP therapy is safe and effective at preventing HIV in some populations, it also has the potential to be very expensive.
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
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When students arrive next month at the new Cooper Medical School of Rowan University, they'll find a six-story building packed with the latest in technology. But the future doctors also will see a modern approach to medical education, said Dr.
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Technology allows new medical school to offer hands-on learning
U.S Post Office marked 1st day of Joe DiMaggio Forever stamp U.S Post Office marked 1st day of Joe DiMaggio Forever stamp
Updated: Sunday, July 22 2012 12:11 AM EDT2012-07-22 04:11:12 GMT
A special tribute was held by the United States Postal Service in the Bronx Saturday celebrating the first issue of its new Joe DiMaggio "Forever" stamp. The ceremony took place at the Bronx General
A special tribute was held by the United States Postal Service in the Bronx Saturday celebrating the first issue of its new Joe DiMaggio "Forever" stamp. The ceremony took place at the Bronx General
Updated: Saturday, July 21 2012 11:58 PM EDT2012-07-22 03:58:37 GMT
Coney Island was the place to be Saturday afternoon if you love building sand castles! The 22nd annual Sand Sculpting Contest and Unity Day Celebration took place at Coney Island Beach and Boardwalk.
Coney Island was the place to be Saturday afternoon if you love building sand castles! The 22nd annual Sand Sculpting Contest and Unity Day Celebration took place at Coney Island Beach and Boardwalk.
Updated: Saturday, July 21 2012 11:52 PM EDT2012-07-22 03:52:30 GMT
There was a brief scare at Newark Airport when a suspicious package was found in a returned rental car Saturday. Authorities were forced to evacuate the Budget Rental Car building but it turned out to
There was a brief scare at Newark Airport when a suspicious package was found in a returned rental car Saturday. Authorities were forced to evacuate the Budget Rental Car building but it turned out to
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All Cooper Medical School needs is students.
Gov. Chris Christie and a bevy of politicians, higher education officials and community leaders will gather Tuesday in Camden to cut the ribbon on New Jerseys first new medical school in nearly 35 years.
The school, part of Rowan University, will be housed in a new $139 million state-of-the-art building diagonal from Cooper University Hospital in the citys Lanning Square neighborhood. Its first class of 50 future doctors arrives next month.
As workmen buzzed around the lobby completing the building last week, founding dean Paul Katz said the incoming students are poised to make history.
"There is only one charter class ever in this school," Katz said. "And you have a certain responsibility and obligation to create the traditions and legacies that everyone will build upon."
Cooper Medical School has been decades in the making. Since the 1970s, South Jersey leaders have been pushing to bring a four-year allopathic medical school to Camden to help spur the revitalization of the troubled city.
In the end, it was South Jersey political power broker George Norcross, head of Cooper University Hospitals board, who helped lead behind-the-scenes efforts in Trenton to make the medical school a reality.
In 2009, Gov. Jon Corzine, who had been treated at Cooper after his near-fatal car accident two years earlier, signed an order giving the school the state money and approvals it needed to get started.
Cooper Medical School is opening amid great upheaval in New Jerseys higher education system. The states other three medical schools, which are all part of the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, are scheduled to be transferred to other universities under a higher education reorganization approved by the Legislature last month.
Under the plan, UMDNJs New Jersey Medical School in Newark and Robert Wood Johnson Medical School in Piscataway-New Brunswick will become part of Rutgers University in July 2013. UMDNJs School of Osteopathic Medicine in Stratford will be taken over by Rowan.
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Soon-to-open Cooper Medical School ready to take its place in history
By Anthony Bond
PUBLISHED: 07:10 EST, 22 July 2012 | UPDATED: 10:03 EST, 22 July 2012
A luxury department store has apologised for selling wooden toy versions of Soviet-era rocket launchers.
London store Liberty was forced to pull the 23.50 toy from is shelves following a number of complaints, with some describing it as 'vile' and 'tasteless'.
Available in baby pink, yellow or natural wood, the design appeared to be marketed at younger children.
Controversial: London store Liberty was forced to pull the 23.50 toy from its shelves following complaints, with some describing it as 'vile' and 'tasteless'
Concerns: The toy was available in the Regent Street shop, pictured, and online and was reduced last week to half-price
The toy was based on Katyusha rocket launchers which were first used in the Second World War by the Soviet Union.
Recently, they have been used by Hezbollah militants to fire rockets into Israel and during the Libyan conflict last year.
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Liberty store:' Wooden toy of Soviet-era rocket launcher taken off shelves following complaints
A few tour boats provide a rare glimpse at the Thimble Islands, the most exclusive and little-known islands in Connecticut. YNN's Valarie D'Elia filed the following report.
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Named for the once-abundant thimbleberry, Connecticuts Thimble Islands in the Stony Creek section of Branford on Long Island Sound was discovered by Adrian Block, the same Dutch sailor Rhode Islands Block island is named for.
Made up of mostly pink granite bedrock carved by glaciers, the Thimble Islands are comprised of 25 inhabited islands with 95 summer homes housing 100 families.
Nine of the islands have electrical power, but other amenities found on the toniest islands include decks, swimming pools and jacuzzis.
A one-time resident was Tom Thumb of P.T. Barnum fame, who lived on Cut In Two Island East with his reputed collection of valuable circus posters.
Another spot, Governor Island, has 14 homes and 25 varieties of trees.
While a few tour boats offer a quick glimpse of these private islands, Outer Island, used for ecological studies, accepts visitors.
At one point though, there were hotels. The largest one, the Thimble Island House, held clam bakes and lobster bakes every weekend for travelers coming by steamship from New Haven. Nowadays, the hotel is now a private home with only 11 bedrooms.
Many of these homes have sold for millions of dollars, but there is a gazebo on the market for $285,000.
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You probably know someone who stays at a job he or she dislikes just for the health care. I even know of a guy who worked for free to get health insurance that he couldn't otherwise obtain. His company was laying off workers, and he begged his employer to keep him on -- to work for nothing -- if he could keep his health care.
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At Work: Health-care act could allow people the freedom to change jobs