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Spuds and Space: NASA and Idaho have a long history – East Idaho News

Posted on July 21, 2020 by Danzig

When people think of NASA, Idaho doesnt exactly jump to mind.

Cape Canaveral and the Kennedy Space Center are in Florida. Johnson Space Center and Mission Control are in Texas. And the Jet Propulsion Laboratory is in California.

But Idahos contributions to space exploration date back to the early years of the space race and continue today.

In fact, when NASA launches the Perseverance mission to Mars this summer, its rovers heat and power will come from a radioisotope power system (RPS) assembled and tested at Idaho National Laboratory.

Craters of the Moon

Idahos relationship with NASA began in 1969, the same year Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin walked on the moon.

That August, NASA sent four Apollo astronauts, including Alan Shepard, to Craters of the Moon National Monument for geology training.

In the Apollo days, NASAs central mission was to get astronauts where they were going and return them alive. Only one scientist was sent to the moon, said Idaho State University volcanologist Shannon Kobs-Nawotniak. The rest were all test pilots. Today, things are driven much more by science.

The former test pilots would be collecting rocks on the moons Fra Mauro Highlands, and NASA mission planners decided Craters of the Moon would be a good place for them to practice spotting scientifically interesting rock specimens.

NASA still uses Craters of the Moon for research. In 2014, scientists from the Ames Research Center began a project called FINESSE (Field Investigations to Enable Solar System Science and Exploration) to conduct field experiments and procedures that may be used by astronauts on the moon and Mars. A second project, BASALT (Biologic Analog Science Associated with Lava Terrains) examines terrain similar to the surface of Mars.

We have the benefit of so much more technology, said Kobs-Nawotniak, geology co-lead on FINESSE and deputy principal investigator on BASALT. With tools such as spectral imagery and more sophisticated satellites, we have a much better sense of what were looking for, she said.

FINESSEs focus on volcanic terrain applies to both the moon mission slated for the mid-2020s and Martian exploration in the 2030s. BASALT focuses on how water-rock interactions might affect habitability for microbial organisms on Mars.

In addition to her research, Kobs-Nawotniak engages with students all over the country, including the Idaho Space Grant Consortium, which funds Idaho students who are awarded NASA internships. Based at the University of Idaho in Moscow, the consortium was established in 2009 with a $1 million grant for STEM education.

Partnering in STEM education

NASA has emerged as a vital partner for STEM education in Idaho, especially in the states underserved rural communities and on Native American reservations.

Ed Galindo, a part-time professor at Idaho State University in Pocatello, deserves a lot of the credit. A member of the Yaqui tribe, Galindo first gained NASAs attention when he formed the Native American Science Association. Realizing the agency might be sensitive to another group using its name, he went right to the head of NASA for permission. This was the beginning of a warm relationship.

In 1997, Galindo took Fort Hall students to Houston for a ride on NASAs notorious Vomit Comet, a Boeing KC-135A that makes parabolic arches to give passengers the sensation of zero gravity flight.

None of the Native American students lost it on the plane, Galindo said. I just told the students to have fun.

A series of student-designed NASA experiments followed, including Spuds in Space, in which the Fort Hall students planted Idaho potatoes in JSC Mars-1, a soil mix designed to emulate everything scientists knew about the Martian soil. The test, done on the STS-Atlantis in 2000, examined how soil would support plant growth in space.

Fun With Urine went aboard STS-Endeavor in 2001 to learn whether urine could serve as the basis of usable space water. In 2003, the club launched its sequel, More Fun With Urine, in which students sought to learn whether their space water could be mixed with paint pigment and American Indian dyes to make art.

Other students around Idaho have put science projects in space. Gary Lam, a sixth-grade teacher at Potlatch Elementary School, helped his class get the Pepper Oil Surprise experiment on the International Space Station. (Watch the YouTube video here.)

We wanted to see if water and oil would separate in space, said Lam. We got hold of someone at NASA who told us, You should be OK because they do have pepper oil on board to spice up their food.

Power and heat for Mars, deep space

Since 2003, INL researchers and engineers have participated in four missions for NASA.

That includes support for the radioisotope heater units that warmed the Spirit and Opportunity rovers during the 2003 Mars Exploration Rover mission.

More recently, INL has assembled and tested the systems that power and heat spacecraft and rovers as they gather data.

In 2006, the Pluto New Horizons spacecraft launched with a radioisotope power system provided by INL. That system is still generating electricity and heat as the craft approaches the edge of the solar system. Nearly four years after passing Pluto in 2015, New Horizons flew by and photographed Ultima Thule in the Kuiper Belt, the most distant object in the solar system ever explored by humans 4.1 billion miles away.

The second RPS assembled and tested for NASA at INL left Earth in 2011 on NASAs Curiosity rover.

Finally, INL delivered an RPS for the latest Mars Rover, Perseverance, which is scheduled for launch in late July or early August 2020. Once the rover lands, its RPS will provide a source of power and heat for the rovers instruments and onboard systems as it explores the surface.

Center for Space Nuclear Research

Idaho National Laboratory is home to the Center for Space Nuclear Research (CSNR), which invites undergraduate and graduate-level students to work with INL scientists on space nuclear research of potential interest to NASA. CSNR researchers have studied a tungsten-based fuel for use in a nuclear thermal rocket that emits a clean, nonradioactive exhaust.

NASA luminaries and supporting players from Idaho

Barbara Morgan of McCall was the first teacher in space onboard the STS-Endeavor in 2007 for a mission to the International Space Station. She served as robotic arm operator and transfer coordinator, directing the transfer of over 5,000 pounds of cargo to the ISS and bringing home over 3,000 pounds.

John Herrington of Lewiston, a member of the Chickasaw Nation and the first Native American in space, flew on the shuttle Endeavor in 2002. After leaving NASA and retiring from the U.S. Navy in 2005, he earned a Ph.D. in education from the University of Idaho.

Nick Bernardini, now at JPL, is the planetary protection lead on Curiosity and the 2020 Perseverance mission. He earned his Ph.D. in microbiology, molecular biology and biochemistry at UI in 2008.

Jason Barnes, an associate professor at UI, is a founding member and deputy principal investigator on NASAs Dragonfly project, the robotic rotorcraft lander planned to launch for Saturns Titan moon in 2025.

David Atkinson, UI professor of electrical engineering from 89 to 16, is now senior systems engineer at JPL on the Saturn Ice Giant Probe Mission.

Spuds and Space: NASA and Idaho have a long history - East Idaho News

Stamps and Spies: The CIA’s Involvement in Postage Design – War on the Rocks

Posted on July 21, 2020 by Danzig

In 1960, many Americans sent mail to Czechoslovakia, wrote the correct addresses, and paid the proper postage, but nevertheless found their envelopes returned undelivered. The envelopes were still sealed, so no one had opened them and decided on the basis of what was written inside to send them back. Instead, the problem was stuck to the front of the envelopes: All the returned envelopes had a postage stamp featuring Tom Masaryk, the leader of Czechoslovak independence. The stamp was part of the Champions of Liberty series honoring non-Americans who had struggled for political freedom in their homelands.

The stamps message was not lost on Communist Czechoslovakia. In a letter to the State Department, the Czechoslovak embassy accused the United States of not issu[ing] the stamp to honor Masaryk as it had alleged, but to use it as a propaganda means against the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic. In response, the State Department insisted that issuing stamps of honored personages of various nationalities is an accepted international philatelic practice.

Missing from this response was a fact about postage stamps that governments have long recognized: Stamps, in addition to carrying mail all over the world, carry designs that reflect the issuing countrys cultural ideals, historical narratives, and even political ideologies. Stamps are government-sponsored art. They are like political posters in their concentrated visual rhetoric, yet they are more like internet ads in their ability to spread that rhetoric across international borders, even if it contravenes the prevailing politics of the countries to which they travel.

Art, literature, and music were all means by which the United States tried to portray itself as more culturally refined than, and therefore superior to, the Soviet Union during the Cold War. While the CIAs covert funding of cultural front organizations has received a lot of attention, declassified U.S. government documents reveal that the designs of the Champions of Liberty series and other Cold War-era stamps were similarly co-opted by the nations top intelligence and military officials.

In the United States, proposals for stamp designs are evaluated by members of the Citizens Stamp Advisory Committee appointed by the postmaster general. The original founding committee in 1957 consisted of seven members: three philatelists (people who study stamps), three artists, and one representative from the U.S. Information Agency, then the lead institution for public diplomacy. This representative, Deputy Director Abbott Washburn, attended monthly meetings of the stamp committee. At the same time, he or his boss attended meetings of the Operations Coordinating Board of the National Security Council. This unique arrangement gave the U.S. government a valuable tool in its communication arsenal.

After the Soviet Union issued an ultimatum demanding the withdrawal of Western armed forces from West Berlin, the Operations Coordinating Board recommended issuing a stamp symbolizing the U.S. commitment to the divided city on the front lines of the Cold War. This commitment had been reaffirmed by President Dwight Eisenhower in his televised address of March 16, 1959. According to CIA Director Allen Dulles memo of a Board meeting two days later (attended by other high-level officials from the White House and State and Defense Departments):

The Board discussed at considerable length a number of possible choices for individuals to be honored in the Champions of Liberty commemorative stamp series. Discussions centered particularly on Ernst Reuter, late mayor of West Berlin. A number of members of the group felt that Reuter would be an admirable choice at any time but that he might be a particularly good one during this period of tension over the Berlin situation.

It was agreed that the USIA representative on the panel considering individuals to be so honored would submit Reuters name, but that if there was determined opposition from other sources, he should not insist to the bitter end.

The meeting minutes indicate that the next stamp in the series was originally supposed to feature Sun Yat-sen, the first leader of the Kuomintang, but that the Operations Coordinating Board proposed Reuter instead. (Suns turn would come three years later, coinciding with a politically significant anniversary for Taiwan.) The minutes also suggest a broader discussion about the use of stamps as a foreign policy tool through a discussion of the entire question of the issuance of commemorative stamps and OCB interest therein.

The designs being contemplated by these U.S. officials, who were normally responsible for coordinating and implementing national security policies, reflected the dual nature of the Cold War as a period of both geopolitical upheaval and scientific and cultural rivalry. In one instance, after the chief of the CIAs clandestine service learned that the Soviet government was planning celebrations to mark the 50th anniversary of Leo Tolstoys death, he wrote an internal CIA memo on Feb. 9, 1959 endorsing the idea of a Leo Tolstoy stamp as part of the Champions of Liberty series. After all, Tolstoys writings on non-violence as part of his Christian beliefs were reminiscent of how the United States tried to portray itself. (Three Soviet stamps featuring Tolstoy, but no American ones, were issued the following year.)

Similarly, one of the topics discussed during a meeting of the Operations Coordinating Board on Oct. 8, 1958 was the possibility of a stamp commemorating the first U.S. satellite. This idea was proposed by the Army, on whose rocket Explorer 1 was launched into space earlier that year nearly four months after Sputnik. Hence, according to Dulles memo of the meeting, the majority of the Board felt that it might be unwise to issue such a stamp in view of the obvious disparity which now exists between our accomplishments in the satellite field and those of the USSR. Ironically, the first country to issue a stamp commemorating Explorer 1 was Soviet-allied Poland! (The global popularity of stamps with space-exploration themes no doubt played a role in the issuance of this 10-stamp set titled Conquest of Space.)

In addition to having these brainstorming sessions, the Operations Coordinating Board and CIA even got involved in the seemingly bureaucratic task of publicizing new stamps. Minutes of a Board meeting on May 22, 1957 state that the OCB Working Group on the Philippines would coordinate a draft Presidential announcement in connection with the commemorative stamp featuring Ramon Magsaysay, the anti-communist fighter and president of the Philippines who had just died in a plane crash, and the first in the Champions of Liberty series. Dulles himself accepted a personalized invitation from the postmaster general to attend the release ceremony of a 1955 Atoms for Peace stamp.

Between 1957 and 1961, ten leaders of foreign lands (including South America, Hungary, Poland, Finland, Italy, and India) became rare exceptions to the tradition of primarily featuring Americans on U.S. stamps. Functionally, these stamps represented proof of postage. Symbolically, they portrayed the United States as continuing those leaders legacies and political struggles. This aspect of the Champions of Liberty series advanced U.S. policy objectives, as Sen. Thomas Dodd explained:

Many millions of people, cut off from the normal free press, nevertheless receive letters from abroad and study the stamps affixed to these letters. They recognize the person pictured on the stamp and remember his role in their national life. The memory of freedom is thus strengthened, and the will to freedom thus encouraged.

Such capacity for visual storytelling has ensured stamps continued relevance even in this age of electronic communication. In May, Serbias foreign ministry denounced a North Macedonian stamp that displayed an outdated map cutting into present-day Serbia as a hostile provocative act aimed against the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Serbia. Two years ago, a set of Pakistani stamps with the caption, Atrocities in Indian Occupied Kashmir, led to the cancelation of a high-level meeting between two nuclear-armed countries. On the other hand, Indias foreign ministry once tweeted, using the hashtag #StampOfDiplomacy, about how the United States was the first country after India to issue a stamp honoring Mahatma Gandhi part of the Champions of Liberty series.

As politicians debate the future of the U.S. Postal Service, history shows that the message inside the envelope is not the only one the stamp delivers.

Matin Modarressis research on philately and foreign affairs has appeared in the Journal of Cold War Studies and Wilson Centers History and Public Policy blog. He is a graduate of Johns Hopkins SAIS. He works in law enforcement in New York.

Image: Photo by Matin Modarressi

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Stamps and Spies: The CIA's Involvement in Postage Design - War on the Rocks

Sheikh Zayed’s dream is being realised by ‘will and persistence’ of Emirati people: Sheikha Fatima – Emirates News Agency

Posted on July 21, 2020 by Danzig

ABU DHABI, 21st July, 2020 (WAM) -- H.H. Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak, Chairwoman of the General Women's Union, GWU, President of the Supreme Council for Motherhood and Childhood, and Supreme Chairwoman of the Family Development Foundation, FDF, stated that the dream of the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan is being realised by the will and persistence of the Emirati people.

In her statement on the occasion of the launch of the Hope Probe on Monday, which was manufactured and is being operated by Emiratis, to discover Mars, she said, "Our ambitions have always been limitless, especially in space exploration, which reflects the directives of President His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, and His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, and His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, to support the space sector and scientific research."

"This Emirati achievement is a message to the entire world stating that the UAE does not believe in the impossible. Despite the exceptional circumstances facing the world caused by the coronavirus, COVID-19, pandemic, the UAE is highlighting its persistence, guided by its leadership, to excel in the area of global competitiveness," she stated.

"We have been following, with much pride, the successful launch of the Hope Probe, which carries our unlimited ambitions. Since its establishment by the Founding Father, the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, the UAE has proven to the world that this dream could not have been achieved without its young citizens who have the capacities and skills to succeed in the space and technology sectors," she added.

The historic launch of the probe took place after years of hard work by Emirati specialists from the Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre, MBRSC, she further added, noting that it is a turning point in the list of inspiring Emirati achievements.

WAM/Tariq alfaham

Justice League: Ray Fisher could get Sued for Trash-Talking Joss Whedon – Geek Feed

Posted on July 21, 2020 by Danzig

With Zack Snyders Justice League already set to come out next year, Cyborg actor Ray Fisher had recently opened up about the abusive behavior of Joss Whedon on set. While some are hoping that he could get into more detail, it looks like an NDA is stopping him from going further.

This was pointed out by insider Daniel Richtman:

Fisher can't talk more cuz he broke NDA and could get sued if he'll say anything else but still good for him to speaking up.

Daniel Richtman #BlackLivesMatter (@DanielRPK) July 16, 2020

For context, here was Fishers original tweet about what happened behind-the-scenes of Justice League:

Joss Wheadons on-set treatment of the cast and crew of Justice League was gross, abusive, unprofessional, and completely unacceptable.

He was enabled, in many ways, by Geoff Johns and Jon Berg.

Accountability>Entertainment

Ray Fisher (@ray8fisher) July 1, 2020

We dont know exactly whats going down now, but everyone is still waiting for WB or Joss Whedon to make an official statement. Producer Jon Berg had tried to defend himself after Fishers post, but he didnt really address the issue and kind of just pointed out that Fisher didnt want to say Cyborgs Boo Yah! catchphrase from Teen Titans.

While this isnt official, word has been going around that when Whedon took over, he was said to be constantly putting down Zack Snyders original plans, much to the dismay of everyone who had been working on the project this whole time. Its worth noting that Snyder had just lost his daughter when he left the film, so it could come out as insensitive on the studios part to just push forward without him.

Again, this is just hearsay online, so take it with a grain of salt. We dont know what it would take for Fisher to really open up about his experience, but if its going to make WB look bad, you can bet they will try their best to keep him quiet.

For now, fans await the release of Zack Snyders Justice League on HBO Max sometime in 2021.

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Justice League: Ray Fisher could get Sued for Trash-Talking Joss Whedon - Geek Feed

Upending the Dogma – Harvard Medical School

Posted on July 21, 2020 by Danzig

In a new study of human ear tissues, hearing scientists at Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts Eye and Ear have demonstrated that age-related hearing loss, also called presbycusis, is mainly caused by damage to hair cells, the sensory cells in the inner ear that transform sound-induced vibrations into electrical signals that are relayed to the brain by the auditory nerve. Their research challenges the prevailing view of the last 60 years that age-related hearing loss is mainly driven by damage to the stria vascularis, the cellular battery that powers hair cells mechanical-to-electrical signal conversion.

The inner ear, where most types of hearing impairment originate, cannot be biopsied, and its delicate structures can be resolved only in specimens removed at autopsy. Understanding the true cellular causes of age-related hearing loss impacts how future treatments are developed and how appropriate candidates will be identified and can also suggest how to prevent or minimize this most common type of hearing damage, according to the study authors. Pei-zhe Wu, HMS research fellow in otolaryngology head and neck surgery in the Eaton-Peabody Laboratories at Mass. Eye and Ear, led the study.

Our study upends the dogma about the major cause of age-related hearing loss, said Wu. Documenting the dominant role of progressive hair cell loss in the hearing impairment of normal aging means that the millions who suffer with this condition could benefit from the hair cell regenerative therapies that are the focus of ongoing research across the world. No one is focusing on approaches to regenerate the stria.

The new study was published online in theJournal of Neuroscience on July 20.

New techniques to uncover the true cause

Researchers examined 120 inner ears collected at autopsy. They used multivariable statistical regression to compare data on the survival of hair cells, nerve fibers and the stria vascularis with the patients audiograms to uncover the main predictor of the hearing loss in this aging population. They found that the degree and location of hair cell death predicted the severity and pattern of hearing loss, while stria vascularis damage did not.

Previous studies examined fewer ears, rarely attempted to combine data across cases and typically applied less quantitative approaches. Most important, prior studies greatly underestimated the loss of hair cells, because they didnt use the state-of-the art microscopy techniques that allowed Wu and colleagues to see the tiny bundles of sensory hairs that helped them identify and count the small number of surviving hair cells. These bundles were more than 200 times thinner than a typical human hair. Prior studies scored hair cells as present even if only one or two remained.

Cellular cause questioned

Age-related hearing loss is one of the most common conditions affecting older adults; about one in three people in the United States between the ages of 65 and 74 has hearing loss, and nearly half of those are 75 and older. The condition cannot be reversed and often requires hearing aids or other sound amplification devices.

Previous animal studies suggested that presbycusis is caused by atrophy of the stria vascularis, a highly vascularized cluster of ion-pumping cells located in the inner ear adjacent to the hair cells. The stria serves as a battery that powers the hair cells as they transform sound-evoked mechanical motions into electrical signals. In aging laboratory animals, such as gerbils, there is very little loss of hair cells, compared to that in humans, even at the end of life. However, there is prominent damage to the stria vascularis, and damage to the stria will, indeed, cause hearing loss. Prior to this new study, most scientists had assumed that the gerbil data also applied to human presbycusis.

The researchers say the new findings are good news given recent progress in the development of therapies to regenerate missing hair cells. If presbycusis were due primarily to strial damage, hair cell regeneration therapy would not be effective. This new study turns the tables and suggests that vast numbers of hearing-impaired elderly patients could likely benefit from these new therapies as they come to the clinics, hopefully within the next decade.

Importance of protecting ears from sound damage

Thedata also showed that hair cell degeneration in aging humans is dramatically worse than in animal models of presbycusis. Laboratory animals are aged in sound-controlled enclosures, where they are not exposed to the constant barrage of moderate and high-intensity noises that surround people.

The greater hair cell death in human ears suggests that the high-frequency hearing losses that define presbycusis may be avoidable, reflecting mainly accumulated damage from environmental noise exposures, saidM. Charles Liberman, the Harold F. Schuknecht Professor of Otology and Laryngology at Mass. Eye and Ear.

Its likely that if we were more careful about protecting our ears during prolonged noisy activities, or completely avoiding them, we could all hear better into old age said Liberman, who is also director of the Eaton-Peabody Laboratories at Mass. Eye and Ear and a co-author of the study.

Adapted from a Mass. Eye and Ear release.

Upending the Dogma - Harvard Medical School

School of Medicine makes MCAT optional amid COVID-19 testing disruptions – The Stanford Daily

Posted on July 21, 2020 by Danzig

The School of Medicine announced in June that applicants would no longer be required to submit a Medical College Admissions Test (MCAT) score during the 2020-21 admissions cycle.

While submitted scores will not be used during the screening and initial review process for interview decisions, the submitted scores will be a part of the applicants file, according to Associate Dean of M.D. Admission Iris Gibbs.

As of July 8, all other application requirements remain the same for the School of Medicine. In future admissions cycles, Gibbs wrote in a statement to The Daily that the School of Medicine does not expect to abandon the exam requirement.

While there are concerns about the MCAT, a great deal of thought was put into formulating the new exam introduced in 2015, Gibbs wrote. Stanford Medicine values the MCAT as a useful tool.

Stanford joins UCSF in making MCAT scores optional during the screening and interview process, although several other peer medical schools have opted to wait for MCAT scores to come in, as opposed to making them optional. Harvard Medical School announced that it will accept MCAT scores at a later time, and UCLA will wait for a score before reviewing an applicants file, though its Vice Dean had signed a joint statement with Stanford in April reassuring that applications could be submitted by the October 15 deadline without an MCAT score.

The decision has drawn applause from some members of the medical community, with concerns over health and safety during in-person examinations no longer a worry. The lack of a standardized testing metric also relieves concerns over structural inequities, wrote Abdi Abdullahi, a third-year medical student at UCSF, in a statement to The Daily.

Historically, URM [underrepresented minority in reference] students have performed worse on the MCAT (largely influenced by SES [socioeconomic status] and structural racism), Abdullahi wrote. In this midst of a pandemic, with families strained economically, these inequities would be further enhanced.

Equitable access would not likely be possible

Gibbs wrote that the decision to waive the MCAT requirement was prompted by the cancellation of MCAT examinations through the end of May.

In late May, as the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) resumed its examinations, the School of Medicine received concerns from applicants that the exam was difficult to schedule, unexpectedly canceled or unsafe to take.

To us it became clear that equitable access to the examination would not likely be possible despite AAMCs valiant attempt to do so, Gibbs wrote, AAMC acknowledged that there were errors in meeting social distancing guidelines in some testing centers in states experiencing recent COVID-19 surges, further validating our concerns for test takers.

An AAMC spokesperson wrote in a statement to The Daily that the AAMC requires social distancing at every MCAT exam.

Every exam that has been held has followed the AAMCs social distancing requirements, the spokesperson wrote.

But while the decision to waive or delay the MCAT requirement is recent, many students have been preparing for the exam for a long time.

Incoming Stanford Black Pre-Medical Organization co-president Ronald Clinton 21 wrote in a statement to The Daily that pre-med students are recommended to spend up to 350 hours studying for the exam.

So many students have already prepared or are currently preparing to take the exam and will only see it as a way to improve their application, Clinton said. I doubt that many students will op-out [sic] of taking the exam. The MCAT is just one more way of differentiating your profile from other applicants.

Gibbs wrote the MCAT score is only a small part of the application, a process that includes multiple letters of recommendation, personal statements and more.

So much more goes into the selection process other than metrics, Gibbs said. Our internal analysis reassures us that other factors in combination can be effectively used in the holistic review process even in the absence of the MCAT.

Equity concerns also led to Stanfords waiving of the MCAT, Gibbs wrote: COVID-19 contributed to existing inequities. We did not wish for applicants to place themselves and [their] families in more harm.

While Abdullahi wrote he thought all medical schools should waive the MCAT requirement during the pandemic, he wrote that the question of whether schools continue the use of the MCAT in post-pandemic admissions is an interesting one.

I believe schools should instead focus on an applicants experiences and motivations for pursuing medicine instead of a three digit numerical score, he wrote. Rankings like US News encourage medical schools to accept students with the highest exam averages, when that doesnt necessarily correlate to which applicants will make the best doctors.

Abdullahi wrote that other parts of the application process are inequitable, pointing to MCAT prep courses and admissions advising services with costs running into the thousands.

These services essentially gift wrap applications for students, making the process much easier to navigate for students who are wealthy, Abdullahi wrote.

On the other hand, Clinton wrote he thought schools could reform their evaluation criteria, as opposed to waiving the MCAT. He said that the MCAT can be improved to better reflect students abilities.

Being a doctor involves strong interpersonal communication skills, empathy, and being adaptable, Clinton wrote. It would be difficult to test these skills in a standardized test like the MCAT, but I believe some of these skills can be addressed more thoroughly in the exam.

This article has been corrected to reflect that UCSF has made MCAT scores optional during only the screening and interview process. A previous version of the article incorrectly stated that UCSF had made MCAT scores optional throughout the whole application process. The Daily regrets this error.

This article has been updated to include a statement from an AAMC spokesperson on the social distancing at MCAT exams.

Contact Anthony Wong at anthonytjwong at gmail.com

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School of Medicine makes MCAT optional amid COVID-19 testing disruptions - The Stanford Daily

Dimensions of time: Starting medical school in the COVID-19 era – Baylor College of Medicine News

Posted on July 21, 2020 by Danzig

I didnt learn how to tell time until age nine. I had somehow missed the important lesson on how to read the hands on a clock in preschool, and my fourth-grade teacher eventually noticed this gap in my knowledge.

Amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, time has felt like a daunting, perplexing concept. The pandemic has turned life as we know it on its head, and left me wondering how to appreciate the present, amid an uncertain world facing unparalleled challenges and the unknowns of my career path.

I have spent the last three months with my parents, younger sister, and two goofy Australian shepherds, the longest consecutive amount of time with them since I was 13 years old. I have grown much more adept at remote work, juggling Zoom calls and email updates with Box uploads and a more relaxed professional wardrobe (read: athletic shorts).

I listen to lots of podcasts on my neighborhood walks. I FaceTime with friends more regularly than ever. My sister and I hone our crossword-solving skills daily. Against the backdrop of these activities in our new normal, the days run into one another as we stay home.

Yet, I keep watching the time. I check my countys COVID-19 case count every night. I keep track of the number of weeks of social distancing in my city. In my daily news consumption, I also watch the time. I learn the time since China identified its first cases of COVID-19. I realize how long it has been since New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo gave his first COVID-19 briefing to a virtual audience seeking leadership and integrity during a crisis. I count the days that turn into weeks since the Black Lives Matter movement became a national outcry for reform with the death of George Floyd.

I also know that I have one month until medical school.

My one-month countdown to the first day of medical school feels impossibly surreal. There seemed to be an endless amount of time before this moment of beginning my medical education. There were inordinate hours spent studying for the MCAT, innumerable drafts of my personal statement, and countless worries about where I would end up and if this long-time dream would become a reality. Now, it is real, and it is happening. I am starting medical school.

I am excited. I am nervous. I am open-minded. I hope to care for my patients, my colleagues, and my work with empathy, diligence, and compassion. As COVID-19 has wreaked havoc on our world, I am grateful and inspired by the admirable efforts of essential workers across all sectors to keep the world running. I welcome the chance to enter a profession that allows me to show up and serve.

Life is still moving along, and it feels as if the hands on the clock move faster than ever. I often find it tempting to live in the world of what happens next. It is a way of exercising control, of holding on tight to something as the right now seems to slip away. When school starts, I want to learn from and grow alongside my classmates. I want to delve into the academic material, memorizing obscure bones I did not even know existed or learning how a certain drug works.

I want to find mentors and role models in class and clinical settings who teach me what type of physician I hope to be and what I need to know to get there. I know that these experiences may look different due to our unique circumstances.

In medicine, time matters. Physicians ask about time to understand the gravity of the situation, inquiring about the length of time someone has been without oxygen or the length of time for which someone at the scene did chest compressions. The medical records track time, graphing BMI and height over the time between visits or noting the times of admission and discharge.

During the pandemic, the world has glimpsed the sheer power of time in medicine. We have all heard of COVID-19 patients facing a disease course stretching on for weeks and physicians raising alarms about their hospitals dwindling supply of masks as COVID-19 cases surge.

As a country, we have questioned the time with which we acted in response to the virus and wondered, through graphs, articles, conversations, tweets, and everything in between, how this all could have been different if we could turn back the clock.

Time also matters in our medical training. Stepwise learning in pursuit of becoming excellent physicians does not stop for a pandemic. Instead, it just might look different as fourth-year medical students start residency earlier or have a virtual graduation.

We are all moving forward amidst a pandemic, a racial reckoning, and a searing exposure of societal inequities and disparities. The world is changing, and I am becoming a doctor. I am realizing that there is time for both.

-By Hannah Todd, incoming first-year medical student at Baylor College of Medicine

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Dimensions of time: Starting medical school in the COVID-19 era - Baylor College of Medicine News

Varun Saraswathula | Doctors are facing a silent mental health crisis and they need help – The Daily Pennsylvanian

Posted on July 21, 2020 by Danzig

In April 2020, New York City resembled a ghost town with empty streets and shuttered businesses. In the days following Governor Andrew Cuomos stay-at-home order, the most populous city in the United States fell silent, except for the eerie echoes of loudspeakers urging individuals to maintain physical distance. Inside the citys emergency rooms and hospitals, however, healthcare workers were facing the worst experience of their careers. Forced to work with insufficient equipment, personnel, and space, New York Citys physicians were at the mercy of an illness they barely understood.

One of those physicians was Dr. Lorna Breen, an emergency medicine doctor at New York-Presbyterian Allen Hospital. Dr. Breen was a well-loved and respected clinician, but unable to cope with the incomprehensible agony of the pandemic at its height. She died by suicide in late April.

Stories like Dr. Breens are distressingly common even prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. A 2019 study asserts that the suicide rate is higher among doctors than in the general public, as are instances of depression. In the first year of postgraduate medical training, depressive symptoms increase 15.8% across resident physicians, and during residency training, anywhere between 20-45% of residents report symptoms of depression. Later on, depression and suicide remain as huge issues for physicians outside of their training.

Why? Obviously, physicians see and deal with a lot of trauma in their careers, so its not surprising that emotional discomfort is prevalent. Having to deal with death on a regular basis and having such an outward facing job leads to compassion fatigue, often leading to burnout and mental illness. At the same time, mental illness is a debilitating source of humiliation in medicine, often being perceived as a sign of weakness and an inability to handle the rigors of the profession.

Dr. Breens passing reignited a conversation surrounding well-being among physicians, but struggles with mental health often begin more than a decade before medical practice itself. Premedical students represent a sizable portion of the undergraduate population, and very early on in their careers, are accustomed to a cut-throat environment. [Mental health] is not viewed as a priority, says Heta Patel, a rising College senior studying Health and Societies, and a premedical student herself. Getting into a good medical school, doing well... those sorts of things are put first.

Its true. A 2010 study found that premeds, especially those who are female or Hispanic, exhibit signs of severe depression more frequently than non-premeds. Despite this prevalence, premeds are often reluctant to admit to these struggles, especially on their applications, out of fear of jeopardizing their chances of being accepted into a program. Its an open secret that programs are biased against applicants with a prior history of mental illness, and even though an applicant might see their illness as an experience crucial to their desire to serve others in a clinical context, many claim that its a surefire way to torpedo an application.

This attitude is prevalent throughout undergraduate medical education, which is often analogized to drinking from a firehose. The first two years of medical school are the preclinical years, where students take coursework in the basic science of medicine, but the rigor can be unlike anything experienced in college. For the most part, the preclinical medical school experience depends on where one trains. Ive had friends who were premed with me, went to different schools, and were really just working to the bone the first two years, says Matt Kubicki, a fourth-year medical student at the Perelman School of Medicine. Its mostly just a preclinical [curriculum]: study, take tests, do anatomy lab, that sort of thing.

Kubicki describes Penn as being more relaxed, even going as far as saying that his preclinical years were less stressful than his time as an undergraduate trying to get into medical school. He attributes this to the pass/fail grading system Penn utilizes when evaluating students in their preclinical years. At Penn our first semester is pass/fail, and even after that theres honors, but it doesnt really matter as much as the grades that we get during our clinical year, he says.

The third year of medical school is the clinical year, where students are able to escape the classroom and rotate in different clinical settings, gaining an understanding of how to practice medicine. While its undoubtedly exciting for many students to get their hands dirty, starting clinical year can be an adjustment that comes with its own set of mental health challenges.

The clinical year is universally hated among most med students, admits Kubicki. I mean it is exciting, youre finally getting to be in clinics, but unfortunately I think it needs to be overhauled a lot more. He describes the clinical year as when medical students are thrown into many different work settings with minimal guidance and constant evaluation. But the worst part? The isolation. When clinic time came, I just wasnt seeing anyone except my roommates, says Kubicki.

Ultimately, medical students work through those clinical rotations to become accepted into a residency program, a graduate medical education program where physicians train in their chosen subspecialty for an additional number of years after graduating medical school. Residents are likely to experience or have exacerbated difficulties in mental health. They face tremendous stress in their careers: substantial workloads, deprived sleep, and work-related compassion fatigue are common and expected. A 2018 study surveyed 18% of the resident physicians at an academic medical center in Chicago, IL, and 61% admitted that they could have benefited from psychiatric services, yet only 24% of those individuals actually solicited treatment. Major concerns for seeking care for mental health include a lack of time, fear of judgement from others, and fear of being unable to obtain licensure.

One of the biggest barriers to seeking mental health treatment among physicians is the fact that state medical licensure boards can ask invasive questions about psychiatric history, which the Department of Justice and numerous court decisions found violate the Americans with Disabilities Act. While the intrusiveness of some questioning has become muted due to legal recourse, some argue that they are still disconcertingly personal. Regardless, it dissuades many physicians from seeking treatment for fear of having such information become available. Notably, however, the mental health condition that receives the greatest scrutiny among physicians is substance abuse.

A 2009 study suggests that between 10-12% of physicians develop a substance abuse disorder during their careers, and the perceived social status of physicians often precludes them from getting help. Kubicki, who is interested in addiction medicine, submits that many of the traits that allow physicians to succeed actually put them at greater risk for developing drug or alcohol problems. A lot of medical students are used to being the know-it-alls who are high achievers... but where that can go wrong is if we suddenly start struggling, we are much less likely to ask for help, he says.

The doctors that ultimately do ask for help are placed into intense investigation. Special rehabilitation programs exist for physicians aiming to achieve sobriety, and relicensure always depends on the successful completion of these programs. It is, in a way, voluntary, but its not, says Penn Department of Psychiatry's Dr. Claudia Baldassano. Dr. Baldassano referred a patient of hers with an alcohol problem (who was a medical student at the time) to one such program. Penn Medicine would not allow this student to remain a student unless [they] enrolled voluntarily in this program. Dr. Baldassano noted that the patient was able to become sober, graduate, and begin residency, ultimately overcoming their problem and becoming a clinician.

The COVID-19 pandemic especially increases workload and stress for many physicians, and their mental health is at greater risk now than ever. Increased sanitation and distancing measures in hospitals make it difficult for doctors to spend time with one another like they once did. One of the best things about residency is the colleagues that you work with and the social connections that you get to build both inside and outside of the hospital, says Dr. Benjamin Lerman, a Pediatrics Resident at the Childrens Hospital of Philadelphia. At the height of the pandemic when we didnt know what the transmissibility of COVID was, we werent even allowed to be in the same room as each other, which was really socially isolating... that takes a mental toll when youre on call in the hospital for 28 hours.

Dr. Baldassano, who is also the Director of Penns Bipolar Outpatient Clinic, notes that she already received two new patient referralsboth of whom are physiciansas a direct result of the pandemic. One became manic in the setting of COVID-19 and increased work hours which led to disruption in sleep, she says. It... fomented what was probably an underlying bipolar disorder that... presented itself to the point where the person became so grandiose they thought they were going to be the one to solve the whole COVID problem.

Historically, medicine rarely discusses mental health within the ranks, but the overwhelming stress of the pandemic hasout of necessitymade administrators prioritize mental health at many levels of the healthcare world. Kubicki notes that in his opinion, Penn Medicine did a better job of addressing mental health concerns during the pandemic than they typically had before. It was kind of like because this was such a big shock to everyones systems, they just flat out from the beginning were like, Hey, if you need to talk about how the pandemic is affecting you, we got these resources all for you, he says. Penn Medicine recently introduced COBALT, a new mental health platform for physicians to receive confidential peer counseling and assistance coping with the trauma of the pandemic.

Even in the allied health professions, COVID-19 introduced broad discussions surrounding mental health where they did not exist before. The first time that ever happened was during coronavirus, says Jennifer Ben Nathan, an Emergency Medical Technician, referring to a supervisor offering to speak to EMTs stressed out from taking calls during the pandemic. Ben Nathan is a rising College sophomore and is working in Emergency Medical Services for 3.5 years now. She describes the culture in EMS as one that rarely discusses mental health, and that those conversations only arise in events of excessive trauma. They only kind of come up if something disturbing happens and we have to deal with it, but otherwise everyone kind of keeps quiet about it and you just kind of carry on, she says. How else are you going to do your job?

Physicians and administrators need to understand that being open, vulnerable, and fallible actually help doctors do their job. This shame associated with mental illness is simply incommensurate with the emotional toll that medicine inevitably takes on practitioners, but its ingrained into every aspect of medical training. If we want more people to enter medicine and operate to the best of their abilities, we have to acknowledge and honor the unimaginable sacrifices they make, and allow them to process trauma in a productive and healthy way.

The silver lining of the COVID-19 pandemic is that it forces a reckoning in medicine. It creates an environment so traumatic for many physicians, that for the first time, people in the field are willing to speak up and set aside stigmas for the sake of practitioners. The worst thing that can happen, however, is if we allow these discussions to regress post-pandemic, and return to a state where physicians once again fear admitting weakness and keep indulging in the tough culture medicine embodied. Changing that culture will require sustained involvement from administrators at every level of medicine, but especially in undergraduate medical education, where members of the next generation of physicians are being molded by one another.

The issue is that sustained involvement comes at a price. It costs money and it requires a structural investment, says Dr. Lerman. But, I think were moving in that direction, it just takes time.

VARUN SARASWATHULA is a rising College junior from Herndon, V.A. studying the Biological Basis of Behavior and Healthcare Management. His email is vsaras@sas.upenn.edu.

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Varun Saraswathula | Doctors are facing a silent mental health crisis and they need help - The Daily Pennsylvanian

Nature access requires attention when addressing community health needs – Penn: Office of University Communications

Posted on July 21, 2020 by Danzig

While access to nature is an established social determinant of health with clear benefits to physical, mental, and social health, it does not receive as must attention by health care providers or health systems as other social concerns, according to a new piece by a Penn Medicine physicianpublishedin theAmerican Journal of Preventive Medicine.

I think changing how people interact with their neighborhood environment, and changing the environment directly, is perceived as being hard and, perhaps, out of bounds of what is possible from health care, saysEugenia South, an assistant professor of emergency medicine.

We dont learn about environmental contributors to health in medical school, and it is not part of traditional biomedical care, South says. And yet, changing the neighborhood, including increasing nature access, has the potential to have a huge health impact on a lot of people. It is worth pursuing.

But access to nature and greenspace is often not given as much consideration when it comes to addressing the inequities that play into peoples health. This is in face of a multitude of studies that show that time inand even just the presence ofnature can improve a communitys health, such as through a reduction in diabetes rates and stress-related conditions like heart disease. Moreover, other studies have shown that alackof access to nature is tied to poorer outcomes, such as research that tied tree loss to increased cardiovascular and respiratory deaths.

South believes that this evidence demonstrates that health systems and health care providers should make more of an effort to increase greenspace access, or prescribe doses of it, to potentially boost community health as a result.

Now, we need to specify how much of nature, or how accessible it needs to be, for people to get positive benefitsand negate any deficiencies, South writes in the journal.

This story is by Frank Otto. Read more at Penn Medicine News.

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Nature access requires attention when addressing community health needs - Penn: Office of University Communications

Third-year University of Colorado medical students start clinical rotations in northern Colorado – Source

Posted on July 21, 2020 by Danzig

Dr. Kaitlin Heisel from UCHealth is one of nearly 200 volunteer faculty in northern Colorado. Photo: Joe Mendoza/CSU Photography

Boxley and Mason said they are excited to take part in CUs Longitudinal Integrated Clerkship, a new clinical curriculum in which students participate in comprehensive care of patients over time, maintain relationships with preceptors and evaluators, and meet core clinical competencies across multiple disciplines simultaneously.

Dr. Amy Reppert, a general and trauma surgeon at UCHealth, is the director of the new curriculum. She said the new approach is taking medical education by storm.

CU is converting completely to the new curriculum, she said. The university joins other top medical schools in helping students learn more about the patient experience and disease processes from start to finish.

Reppert and Dr. Christie Reimer now the assistant dean of the Fort Collins branch campus recruited physicians who will serve as volunteer faculty this year, and in the years to come. The response has been phenomenal, said Reppert, with nearly 200 clinicians from UCHealth stepping forward to help serve as preceptors, mentors and instructors.

The volunteer faculty or liaisons have recruited or actively engaged community practitioners interested in education, said Reppert. The energy the faculty is bringing to this project for the students is remarkable, and these liaisons are offering their time and energy to educate our students. The response has gone beyond what we imagined we would find.

Boxley said he has been impressed with the physician instructors hes met.

As a child growing up, I didnt appreciate the community that exists in Fort Collins, he said. People are kind and generous, and that extends to the medical community, based on the doctors that Ive met so far. Being a student, its resource-rich, with teachers willing to invest in you and a community thats willing to accept you learning in their midst. Northern Colorado is going to be a really good place for that, for all of us.

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Third-year University of Colorado medical students start clinical rotations in northern Colorado - Source

ProQR Strengthens Scientific Advisory Board with Leaders in Inherited Retinal Disease and RNA Therapy – GlobeNewswire

Posted on July 21, 2020 by Danzig

LEIDEN, Netherlands & CAMBRIDGE, Mass., July 21, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- ProQR Therapeutics N.V.(Nasdaq:PRQR), a company dedicated to changing lives through the creation of transformative RNA therapies for severe genetic rare diseases, today announced the strengthening of the Companys Scientific Advisory Board (SAB) with new members. The SAB members serve as strategic advisors to the Company as it continues to advance its pipeline of RNA therapeutics and its proprietary technology platforms.

We are strengthening our Scientific Advisory Board with the addition of leading experts in inherited retinal disease and RNA therapies, said Daniel A. de Boer, Chief Executive Officer of ProQR. These individuals bring important scientific, medical, and industry experience, as well as diverse perspectives for us to draw upon. Im excited to work with this distinguished and talented group of advisors and believe their contributions will be significant as we continue advancing our platform for patients living with Inherited Retinal Diseases.

ProQRs SAB is comprised of:

Biographies for the SAB members are available on ProQRs website.

About ProQR

ProQR Therapeutics is dedicated to changing lives through the creation of transformative RNA therapies for the treatment of severe genetic rare diseases such as Leber congenital amaurosis 10, Usher syndrome and retinitis pigmentosa. Based on our unique proprietary RNA repair platform technologies we are growing our pipeline with patients and loved ones in mind. *Since 2012*

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This press release contains forward-looking statements. All statements other than statements of historical fact are forward-looking statements, which are often indicated by terms such as "anticipate," "believe," "could," "estimate," "expect," "goal," "intend," "look forward to", "may," "plan," "potential," "predict," "project," "should," "will," "would" and similar expressions. Such statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding our SAB members, and statements regarding our ongoing and planned discovery and development of our pipeline and the advancement of our novel and proprietary technologies.Forward-looking statements are based on management's beliefs and assumptions and on information available to management only as of the date of this press release. Our actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements for many reasons, including, without limitation, the risks, uncertainties and other factors in our filings made with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including certain sections of our annual report filed on Form 20-F. Given these risks, uncertainties and other factors, you should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, and we assume no obligation to update these forward-looking statements, even if new information becomes available in the future, except as required by law.

ProQR Therapeutics N.V.

Investor Contact:Sarah KielyProQR Therapeutics N.V.T: +1 617 599 6228skiely@proqr.comorHans VitzthumLifeSci AdvisorsT: +1 617 535 7743hans@lifesciadvisors.com

Media Contact:Sara ZelkovicLifeSci Public RelationsT: +1 646 876 4933sara@lifescipublicrelations.com

Kokomo cardiologist honored with gift to Ivy Tech – Kokomo Perspective

Posted on July 21, 2020 by Danzig

KOKOMO, Ind. This was a birthday surprise unlike any other a unique party with a rather unusual surprise gift honoring Jim Scheffler, better known by many in Kokomo as cardiologist Dr. Scheffler. Thanks to wife Kathy, and her generous donation, the Anatomy/Physiology Laboratory in Ivy Tech Kokomos new Health Professions Center will be named in his honor.

The gift was unveiled earlier this month with a surprise celebration at the conclusion of a private tour of the new center for healthcare education. Kathy talked about why Ivy Tech, and its students, have such an important spot in their hearts; it all goes back to their own experiences.

Jim and Kathy met while students at the University of California Santa Barbara and both worked while completing their educations. Kathy completed hers at Marymount College in Tarrytown, N.Y., a member of the first graduating class of Marymounts Weekend College program, while she worked for Merrill Lynch. After working for IBM for a number of years, Jim decided to go to medical school at the age of 35. Then, after graduating from New York Medical College, he completed an internship at Dartmouth and fellowships in critical care at Massachusetts General and cardiology at University of Chicago.

We both worked and went to school at the same time, like so many Ivy Tech students do, Kathy said. We understand that getting an education is extremely important and the sacrifices are worth it. This is why we believe in Ivy Tech. It provides a support structure for students to get an education and work at the same time.

The Schefflers came to Kokomo in July 1994 when Jim joined Northside Cardiology, which later became part of the Care Group now known as Ascension Heart Care. Kathy has been active in the Kokomo community, sharing her talents and enthusiasm as a volunteer for Samaritan Caregivers, Kokomo Community Concerts, Kokomo Symphony, Symposium, and P.E.O. Sisterhood.

Kathy was happy to bring some of their closest friends Dr. Kareem and Deina Abbasi and Rodney and Anamaria Shrock to Ivy Tech to help celebrate Jims birthday and share their love of Ivy Tech.

The Ivy Tech project provides the best education and support for students of the community, she said. At graduation, a student has the opportunity for a good career and/or the opportunity to continue on to a better career. Education allows our community and businesses to have a viable workforce as well as a better, community-conscious population.

When Ivy Tech announced the campaign to help fund the transformation of the Kokomo Campus, Kathy knew she wanted to contribute. I chose the anatomy/physiology room because Jim loved physiology in medical school, she said. These studies are the backbone of all medicine. Without that knowledge, nothing makes sense.

The anatomy/physiology room was so perfectly him, she continued. Its hard to find birthday presents for him so the two just came together!

At the birthday party, Ivy Tech Kokomo Chancellor Dean McCurdy extended words of appreciation.

Now, more than ever, the world needs trustworthy reportingbut good journalism isnt free.Please support us by making a contribution.

The support from community members like Dr. Jim and Kathy Scheffler has been critical in realizing the dreams of so many people to provide great education in a quality environment, he said. The Dr. James M. Scheffler and Katherine L. Scheffler Anatomy/Physiology Laboratory will be an incredibly important asset in the education of generations of healthcare workers in the Kokomo Service Area.

For more information on the campaign to raise a total of $3 million in private donations to complete the project, contact Kelly Karickhoff at kkarickhoff@ivytech.edu or call 765-437-6917 or log in to ivytech.edu/kokomotransformation .

Ivy Tech lab includes Anatomage dissecting table

Every birthday party needs a little fun and Dr. Jim Schefflers birthday party was no exception. But instead of flailing at a pinata or pinning a tail on a donkey, he got some hands-on experience with one of Ivy Techs high-tech educational tools. Guided by Ivy Tech science professor Dr. Gauri Pitale, he navigated some of the many offerings of the Anatomage table.

Ivy Tech Kokomo has three of these computerized anatomy tables to offer life-size digital interactive human bodies that students can dissect and reassemble on a tablet-like surface.

With Dr. Pitales help, Dr. Scheffler examined the heart of one patient, moving digitally down, around, and through the organ he has devoted his life to. He and fellow surgeon Dr. Kareem Abbasi were fascinated by the ability to virtually inspect the patients organs and tissues using the $100,000 machine without the downsides of a real human cadaver.

The Anatomage program is created using detailed images taken in three-millimeter increments from real human bodies. Students can remove layers, such as skin, muscles, and veins, to work with the digital bodies in different ways. Faculty members say that aside from the feel, the digital cadavers offer virtually everything real cadavers do.

The Anatomage allows students to go from studying gross anatomy to even studying minute structures in the body within a matter of seconds, Dr. Pitale said. It comes loaded with case studies that show pathologies, enabling students to view the pathology on an actual body instead of having to imagine it.

Dr. Pitale, who earned a Ph.D. in Medical Anthropology from Southern Illinois University Carbondale, brought more than 10 years experience teaching at the college level when she joined Ivy Tech Kokomo as an assistant professor last July. She finds the Anatomage table a great benefit to her teaching.

The hands-on learning experience allows students to engage in conversations with themselves and ask me further questions, she said. In terms of pedagogy, that is vital because by engaging students using this tool, they are able to better understand the concepts that I am introducing in class.

The digital dissection table even allows students to view certain body processes in real time.

For example, you can select a blood vessel and choose to have the Anatomage show where the blood flows to and from that vessel, she said. That is incredible, and something students cannot see in an actual cadaver. I really enjoy using it as a tool to teach students.

Kokomo cardiologist honored with gift to Ivy Tech - Kokomo Perspective

What Do We Know About Children and COVID-19? – Medscape

Posted on July 21, 2020 by Danzig

Editor's note: Find the latest COVID-19 news and guidance in Medscape's Coronavirus Resource Center.

As COVID-19 burns through Texas, districts and health departments across the state are wrestling with how to provide childcare and schooling to the state's 7 million-plus children. Jerri Barker, who runs a daycare in Waco, has watched warily as other facilities in the area began to report cases of COVID-19 in recent weeks. First, a church daycare, then a community center, two cases here, a few more there.

Although the case counts are easy to understand, not much else is clear.

"Every time there's a positive case in a childcare, it's handled a different way," said Barker, whose facility reopened in May to care for children of essential workers. "They'll announce that two staff have tested positive on a Friday and clean the center and open back up on Monday, but then other places, staff will test positive and they'll close for 2 weeks." After a pause, she added that it seems like "everybody's just making up the rules as we go along."

Barker describes the rule book she and colleagues at other centers have received that list the minimum standards for keeping the centers open. "It's a mixture of what's already in our regulations, and runs to hundreds of pages," she said. "Some of it is strengthened [for COVID-19], but most of it is called 'recommendations,' and that's so confusing."

Between "requirements" and "recommendations," Barker said, "I am sure there are things I don't know, but of course, we're all professionals and we do our best." She worries about her young charges, her staff, herself, and the school teachers whose children will be in her care when school starts.

As August looms and the start of school approaches nationwide, Barker's questions are on the minds of parents, teachers, and caregivers alike.

Medscape asked five experts in pediatric infectious disease who consult at the local, state, and national levels about their thoughts on sending children to school and daycare and what best practices might be. Coburn Allen, MD, is associate professor of pediatrics at the University of Texas at the Dell Medical School in Austin. Kristina Bryant, MD, is a pediatric infectious disease specialist with Norton Children's Hospital in Louisville, Kentucky. Thomas Murray, MD, PhD, is an associate professor in the Yale School of Medicine Department of Pediatrics, Infectious Disease, and Global Health in New Haven, Connecticut. Natasha Nakra, MD, is an associate professor of pediatric infectious disease at the University of California, Davis, Children's Hospital in Sacramento. Sean O'Leary, MD, is vice chair of the Committee on Infectious Disease for the American Academy of Pediatrics and professor of pediatrics in the sections of pediatric infectious disease and general pediatrics at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus/Children's Hospital of Colorado in Aurora.

The five clinicians note that they can only speak regarding the information that is available today and that their views could change as new information emerges. "Two weeks or a month from now, anything could be different," Murray said. "There's so much we have to learn, and there's new information coming out every week."

Q: What have we learned about pediatric transmission?

Children, especially younger children up to 9 years old, seem less likely than adults to transmit the virus to other children or to adults, say all five specialists. No one yet knows why. It's possible that children's smaller lungs do not cough as forcefully as adults' lungs, so they can't propel virus-laden droplets as far. Another possibility although research on this is mixed is that children produce fewer angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) receptors, which are responsible for allowing viral entry into cells. With fewer receptors, fewer viruses would be able to make their way in. Whatever the reason, Allen said, current consensus seems to be that children "don't seem to get it easily or transmit it well, which is a good thing for schools."

Among older children, the picture starts to change. Bigger lungs, more forceful coughs, possibly more ACE2 receptors: "Older children, like teenagers, are more apt to behave like adults," Murray said, and possibly transmit more like them.

On July 18, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention published findings showing that in South Korea, children younger than 10 do seem to transmit the virus less often than adults and that children from 10 to 19 years old have a more adult-like capacity for transmission. The report added to concerns about school openings. "I think that lesson number one is that children are not a homogeneous group," Bryant said. "Maybe we can't think about childcare centers and elementary schools and high schools in the same way in terms of risk."

Bryant does note that the South Korean results showed that for children of any age, transmission rates among contacts outside the home were really low. The results highlight, she said, that "there's more to learn about transmission from children, but I do think it's encouraging that transmission to nonhousehold contacts was so low for both."

Q: What are the gaps in our knowledge as it relates to childcare and returning to school?

Despite some evidence suggesting that children might not transmit the virus very well, most of the data right now the South Korea study excepted come from household studies, Murray says. Schools and daycare settings are still one big question mark. "It's going to be very interesting to see what happens as school reopens more broadly and there is more child-child contact," he said.

Allen points to the potential for different modes of transmission depending on age. "We know that kids are probably better at shedding in stool," he said. That puts increased burden on daycare workers, who should be especially careful and develop best practices for changing diapers.

O'Leary says that so far, success stories with schools are largely from other countries that are in a very different position than the United States: "[T]hey have lower levels of coronavirus in the community [and] better capacity for testing and contact tracing and controlling outbreaks when they do happen," he said.

"We are still learning about SARS-CoV-2 and its effect on children," Bryant said. "What we think we know today may not be what we know in October."

One thing that may become clearer in the fall is whether transmission via surfaces is relevant. In classrooms with small children, Nakra said, surfaces are a "big source of transmission with other respiratory viruses, so it will be important to see what happens there as well."

Q: In these situations, which is the greatest risk: transmission from child to child, child to adult, adult to child, or adult to adult?

Risk for adult-adult transmission is of highest concern to all of the clinicians interviewed. Indeed, Allen says, adults are usually the source of infection for children, at least within households. And adults, especially those with high-risk medical conditions such as diabetes, are the most vulnerable and the biggest reason for concern, he says. "Right now, for example, in California, there has not been a single COVID death in children, despite 27,000 cases, and that's what we've seen in Texas so far, too."

In classrooms with younger children, adults may find it challenging to keep children at a distance, Nakra says. Preschool and kindergarten classrooms usually have a lot of hands-on instruction. "Ideally, you would want distance from the children and the children wearing face masks or face shields," she said, but that's difficult with children at these ages.

Q: What are the risks for children who are infected with SARS-CoV-2, including long-term outcomes?

"We have data that suggest that children under a year of age may have more severe disease than other children," Bryant said. She noted that early infancy itself may be a risk factor for more severe infections in general. But, she said, "Most young infants with COVID recover pretty quickly."

Although many parents might be especially worried about the Kawasaki-like syndrome that has affected a small number of children, it remains quite rare. "The postinfection things are at less than 200 cases right now" in the United States, Allen said. One thing his group is tracking is whether children are showing autoimmune responses after having COVID-19 or testing positive for the virus even if asymptomatic. So far, he said, they are seeing a "lot of things that sound postimmune." Some clinicians have even anecdotally reported an increase in cases of lupus and rheumatoid arthritis among children who've had COVID-19 or who have tested positive for SARS-CoV-2. In many ways, these reports align with the emergence of another inflammatory condition. The postinfection Kawasaki-like syndrome, called multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children, or MIS-C, "sure acts like an autoimmune disease, with a lot of cellular mimicry," Allen said.

Because no one knows the true rate of infection among children, pinning down the rate of MIS-C is tough, Murray notes. He also says that he's heard anecdotal reports of lingering breathing problems in children who had more severe COVID-19 symptoms. But he cautions that it will be at least a couple of years before this connection is confirmed. "This virus has now been shown to affect virtually every organ system, so there is absolute potential for long-term complications, but in what age groups is too soon to tell," he said. For a child with persistent symptoms, he says he'd consider recommending regular evaluations by a pulmonologist.

Q: What are your greatest concerns about child-centered settings, such as schools and daycare centers?

Allen is less worried about children and more about adults, especially those at high risk. "We need to be smart about protecting the right people, those with easily identifiable risk factors," he said. "We need to do everything we can to spread out chairs and spaces in daycares and schoolrooms and to make it easy for people to say, 'I am sick, I might be exposed,' and not risk losing their job."

Where children are concerned, Allen and Nakra are more worried that not enough are getting vaccinated. "The decreased vaccination rates for the last 6 months has led to a tinderbox," Allen said. "We are very likely to see a large outbreak of vaccine-preventable diseases," such as measles. Without well-child visits, Nakra said, "there are concerns for long-term implications."

Murray agrees. "We need to learn how to function safely in the presence of this virus at some baseline," he said, and that functioning must include well-child visits for vaccinations. He also brings up the need for child-centered institutions to consider how to keep protections in place for situations such as fire drills or tornado warnings, when social distancing becomes more difficult. That schools have a strategy in place, even for unpredictable events such as these, is "a measure of how thoughtful [their] leadership has been in planning," he said.

Public health measures to keep children and staff safe will be key, Murray says. These measures should include mask-wearing, being outside as much as possible with appropriate social distancing, and a lot of environmental cleaning. Open windows to allow for air exchange and use of HEPA filters will be important, too, he says. Nakra also emphasizes ventilation and outside time. She said, "We want children masked, if possible," and acknowledged the difficulty, especially for young children. She has a 5-year-old at summer camp and worries that he's not wearing his mask all the time.

"Far and away my biggest concern is the abysmal job the US has done at controlling the pandemic in general," O'Leary said. Getting case numbers down before classes start up in the fall is of "utmost importance," he said. "If we can get the number of cases down to a manageable level in all 50 states, then school reopening becomes a much more straightforward proposition."

Q: If you were a parent, would you send your child to school?

"I will encourage my kids to go back to in-person school," said Allen, whose younger children are in grades 2 and 11. "And as a consultant to several schools and school districts, I am really trying to shift the focus to how to protect our teachers, custodians, and principals," he continued. Online school "should be avoided as much as possible because I think it really is an equity issue."

Nakra's children, ages 5 and 7, have attended summer camp from early June, when rates in their area were low. She says it's an individual decision for each family. "I'm constantly evaluating my decision," she said, "but they are spending more of their time outside. If rates continue to go up," she added, "they will not be there much longer."

"I believe strongly in the value of in-person education and bringing children together to socialize, especially for younger kids," said Murray, who has children in middle school, high school, and college. But for that to happen, rates of community transmission need to be "relatively low," he said. "With high rates, there is a high risk that you're going to bring people together with disease." Schools also need to have clear plans for masking, social distancing, and what happens when a teacher or student gets COVID-19. "It needs to be crystal clear and communicated to stakeholders, including parents, so that everybody knows what to expect," he said.

O'Leary's children, ages 12 and 16, attend local public schools. He describes himself as "very hopeful" that they'll go back in the fall. But, he said, "it depends on the epidemiology of the virus...if the transmission is low enough to safely open schools." In the end, he said, "If the guidance from public health is that it's safe to reopen school, I would be comfortable sending my kids."

Bryant's youngest is in college, and although she doesn't have to make a decision herself, she is still fielding queries from friends with younger children. Before schools can open, she says, communities must first commit to lowering their COVID-19 case load. "To get to school opening, we have to make certain behavioral choices," she said, including wearing masks and practicing social distancing to keep rates low. "Having crowded bars.... Is that the best choice if we're prioritizing school opening? Maybe not."

Q: More and more districts have committed to online learning in the face of rising case counts. What do you think of that?

"It's not looking good, is it?" O'Leary noted. "I think in the places where the virus is circulating widely, there is really no choice."

Murray, too, sees community transmission as an understandable reason for shifting to remote learning. But Allen thinks that the plans should show more flexibility. "School districts making such significant and long-term plans this early, for something changing so rapidly, is a mistake," he said. "Our kids need to be back in school when it is safe, not some arbitrary period based on fear."

"Infectious disease physicians and public health officials are trying their best to assimilate the many studies that are emerging every day into public health guidance," Nakra said. "It's frustrating for things to be changing, sometimes on a daily basis, but our interests are to protect and maintain the health of communities."

Currently, families have no choice but to ride the roller coaster. "Quarantine has been very hard on children, and we can't underestimate the effect on their mental health," Bryant said. "We can give people the grace to say that families are doing the best that they can."

Allen, Bryant, Murray, Nakra, and O'Leary have disclosed no relevant financial relationships.

Emily Willingham, PhD, is a science writer and author of Phallacy: Life Lessons from the Animal Penis , to be published in September 2020 by Avery, an imprint of Penguin Publishing Group. Find her on Twitter @ejwillingham.

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What Do We Know About Children and COVID-19? - Medscape

Dr. Michael Mina of the Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health, supported by TrialSpark, announces enrollment of first 500 patients of a COVID-19…

Posted on July 21, 2020 by Danzig

NEW YORK, July 21, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Dr. Michael Mina of the Harvard T. Chan School of Public Health announced today the successful enrollment of the first 500 patients just 10 days after launching a COVID-19 longitudinal serological surveillance studyusing the Project Covalence trial platform.

This study aims to estimate the true prevalence of COVID-19 in the general population and to investigate the role of COVID-19 antibodies and what protection they may offer. Gathering serological antibody data is essential to understanding the spread of SARS-CoV-2 and for making informed decisions about safely reopening society.

The study is run on TrialSpark's Covalence platform with funding support from Sam Altman and Open Research. The Covalence platform provides the infrastructure for researchers to rapidly spin up COVID-19 studies and is optimized for trials conducted in an outpatient setting or at the patient home.

The principal investigator, Dr. Michael Mina, MD/PhD, is an Assistant Professor of Epidemiology at the Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health and a physician at Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School. He has been at the forefront of the response to COVID-19 since the virus emerged, and has advised governments and institutions in the U.S. and internationally.

"Longitudinal serological surveillance is a critical component of the public health response to a pandemic pathogen like SARS-CoV-2. The data these types of serological surveys provide informs everything from the prevalence of infection and risk factors associated with spread to the hospitalization and mortality rates that occur following infection. These data are, in many ways, the missing pieces to help understand the optimal methods of control and reopening strategies associated with this pandemic," said Mina. "The Covalence platform that TrialSpark has built has been tremendously useful to accelerate the research that we are performing now and need to continue building over the coming months and years. In the future, I can imagine the Covalence platform as an ideal environment for vaccine and therapeutic studies that will need to be initiated quickly and effectively."

This platform has been set up and allows serological studies to be easily deployed in states across the country that will provide policy leaders and public health officials with real-time information on spread and effectiveness of control policies. Dr. Mina hopes to expand this longitudinal study to other states beyond Massachusetts and is seeking partners,government and private partnerships, funders and other collaborators.

For those interested in getting involved, please contact [emailprotected].

About Project Covalence

Project Covalence is a collaboration between tech entrepreneur Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, physician-scientist Dr. Mark C. Fishman, Harvard professor and Founding President of the Novartis Institutes for Biomedical Research, and TrialSpark. It is designed as a turnkey trial platform that enables investigators and sponsors to rapidly launch clinical trials for COVID-19, optimized for community-based or at-home studies.

About TrialSpark TrialSpark is a technology company that runs end-to-end clinical trials as an alternative to a traditional CRO. TrialSpark partners with doctors to create trial sites within their existing practices and runs trials out of these sites using a roaming cohort of research coordinators, optimized by software, data, and technology. By creating trial sites with doctors, TrialSpark unlocks the 99% of patients who traditionally haven't been able to participate in trials, boosting recruitment rates and democratizing access. TrialSpark is backed by leading investors such as Michael Moritz, John Doerr, Thrive Capital, and Sequoia Capital.

For press inquiries, please contact [emailprotected]

SOURCE TrialSpark

https://www.trialspark.com

Dr. Michael Mina of the Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health, supported by TrialSpark, announces enrollment of first 500 patients of a COVID-19...

Best 5 Sports Betting Sites Online 2020 | Top Sportsbooks

Posted on July 21, 2020 by Danzig

Sports betting on the Internet can be a thrilling experience for anyone. If you want your sports betting experience to go off without a hitch, however, you need to find the right website. Thankfully, the Internet is home to quite a few appropriate sites that can provide users with top-notch experiences. Be sure to check them out as soon as you get the chance.

If youre keen on sports betting online, then there arent many website options that can even compete with Bovada. People who have penchants for gambling on the Internet often cant turn away from this option. It presents users with an abundance of diverse choices as well. Some examples of these are baseball, basketball, and golf. It doesnt matter what your specific sport preferences are. Bovada can help you attain an online betting experience thats one for the record books, period. When youre on the lookout for the best sports betting sites, then Bovada without a doubt should be on your radar. Fans of sports betting online frequently gravitate to Bovada and to all of its choices. Registration with Bovada can be a delight as well. Thats due to the fact that newbies can receive thrilling perks as incentives. If you like the concept of betting on hockey, basketball and the like, then you wont be able to resist paying a visit to Bovada. Tennis bets have never been quite so pleasant online.

BetOnline.ag is another haven for people who adore wagering on their favorite sports. If youre looking to streamline and simplify your sports betting journey in a significant way, then you should go to BetOnline.ag as soon as possible, no exceptions. This website caters to individuals who adore betting on favorites such as tennis, soccer, golf, hockey, baseball, football, and basketball. The sky is honestly the limit for fans who head over to BetOnline.ag these days. BetOnline can be a true haven for individuals who are searching for all of the best sports betting sites. BetOnline accommodates individuals who wish to place efficient wagers on preferred sports of all different varieties. If youre in the mood to gamble in a productive and hassle-free manner, then this user-friendly site may be able to come to your rescue. It welcomes seemingly countless bet enthusiasts on a daily basis.

If youre attempting to pinpoint all of the greatest online sports betting sites going at the moment, then you should take the time to explore SportsBetting.ag right now. This website successfully accommodates people who are in the mood to place bets on basketball, baseball, tennis, soccer, golf, and hockey. If you want to wow the planet with your basketball bet abilities, then SportsBetting.ag can make things simple and stress-free for you. Signing up with SportsBetting.ag is in no way a complex process. SportsBetting.ag is a tried and tested powerhouse among individuals who revel in bets on the Internet. If you want to place wagers without having to worry about any of your choices, then you should check this website out without a hint of delay or reluctance. When you need online sports betting sites that are 100 percent uncomplicated, then SportsBetting.ag doesnt have many competitors whatsoever. Registering for this website isnt at all overwhelming or complex. Its actually a pretty enjoyable thing. If you want to relish wagering on options that tick off all sorts of boxes, then you should take the time to learn everything you can about SportsBetting.ag as soon as possible. The website has a sizable fanbase. It has some of the most conscientious and pleasant customer service representatives out there as well.

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Best 5 Sports Betting Sites Online 2020 | Top Sportsbooks

Best Online Gambling for Real Money Sites – $3000 Promo

Posted on July 21, 2020 by Danzig

Finding the best online gambling sites is a major challenge, especially in places where there are no regulations and licensed online gambling real money site. In this article, you will discover more about the three best real money gambling sites.

Sportsbook, poker rooms, and casinos that operate online are usually called internet gambling sites or online gambling real money sites. They are powered by software that creates various ways to gamble.

When it comes to online gambling for real money, it is always crucial to choose the most secure sports betting site. Bovada is certainly one of the safest and best gambling sites on the Internet. The platform offers several online sports real money betting options. Also, Bovada features a simple live betting platform for gamers who like in-game betting. Moreover, the desktop interface is easy to navigate.

If you are looking for more real action in your life, the site has a full-scale online casino with all the adventure you could ever need. While Bovada does have a lot of real money gaming options as compared to others, it has sufficient games for semi-serious and casual players. You will find all the best and popular games. Also, the casino has features mini-games that you can play from love betting platform.

Whether you are betting on football, basketball, baseball or any other sport MyBookie gives you a host of actions. In fact, the site provides the wagering on various things including whether or not there will be a presidential election or white Christmas. The game lets you bet on goofy things. So, is my bookie a reliable money gaming platform? Lets find out:

MyBookie is run and managed by some of the most skilled and experienced individuals in the gaming industry. To begin with, the customer support is incredible. The customer reps know how to treat customers. MyBookie is a registered operator and authorized as a platform for real online gaming. They have been existence for some time now and continue to enhance their products.

You can access MyBookie from anywhere in the world. You can bet on mobile without downloading apps, this is a good thing because you do not need to worry about space when playing on your mobile device. MyBookie is convenient for players who are always on the go.

BetOnline is famously known for its sportsbook. The site is a one-stop shop for all your gaming needs.

BetOnline is a legit and one of the best online gambling sites. So, do not believe a couple of people who may bash the site because they might have lost cash and are not happy. Apart from being secure and offering on-time payments, BetOnline offers numerous real casino games and money betting options.

Players from all the 50 states can play on BetOnline. Few websites allow players from anywhere in the world to play on their platform. Customers have had incredible success with credit card deposits. Thus, the site is easy to grade for accessibility.

Great banking options is another commendable feature of BetOnline. You can deposit money on the site and withdraw from anywhere in the world. For many other sites, withdrawing money has been a major problem, especially for US gambling.

Quality sportsbook is a feature not so many real sports betting sites offer. If you are looking to play on a real American sports platform, consider using BetOnline as it offers a great number of international money gambling markets.

While registering on the best online gambling casino may not be a requirement for non-American bettors, it is a must for all the US bettors because there is only a handful of legit sportsbook, and BetOnline is one of them.

With more than a decade in the gaming business, many banking options and betting options and good reputation, gamers should consider registering on best online gambling casino, and that is BetOnline.

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Best Online Gambling for Real Money Sites - $3000 Promo

Gambling Addiction: Symptoms, Causes, and Treatment

Posted on July 21, 2020 by Danzig

For the most part, gambling in moderation is a socially acceptable behavior. Gambling addiction is another story. If left untreated, a gambling addiction can negatively affect your financial situation, relationships, and other aspects of your life.

According to the National Council on Problem Gambling, problem gambling affects more than 2 percent of Americans. If you have a gambling addiction, you may feel an uncontrollable urge to buy lottery tickets, visit casinos, play slot machines, bet on sports, or gamble online. The specific type and frequency of your gambling behavior may vary. But in general, you will be unable to control that behavior. You will continue gambling, even in the face of negative social, financial, or legal consequences.

The majority of people with gambling addictions are men. But this type of addiction can also affect women.

People with addictions often try to hide their condition, but a gambling addiction can be difficult to conceal. You may need frequent access to casinos or online gambling pools. Even if you gamble at home when no one is around, your addiction may begin to show itself in other areas of your life.

If you have a gambling addiction, you may display some or all of the following behaviors:

You may also experience the following consequences from your gambling addiction:

People with gambling addiction dont always gamble frequently. But when they do start gambling, they may be unable to stop.

When you have a gambling addiction, an area of your brain called the insula may be overactive. This hyperactive region may lead to distorted thinking. This can cause you to see patterns in random sequences and continue gambling after near misses.

Your brain may respond to the act of gambling in the same way that an alcoholics brain responds to a drink. The more you feed your habit, the worse it will become.

With the right treatment, gambling addiction is manageable. Unlike someone with a food addiction, you dont need the object of your addiction to survive. You simply need to learn how to develop a healthy and balanced relationship with money.

Its important for you to quit gambling completely, since even occasional gambling can lead to a relapse. A program of recovery can help you develop impulse control. In general, gambling addiction is treated with similar methods as other addictions.

Although not frequently required, some people find that they need the structure afforded by an inpatient program at a treatment center to overcome a gambling addiction. This type of program may be especially helpful if youre unable to avoid casinos or other gambling venues without help. You will need to stay in the treatment facility for a set amount of time, anywhere from 30 days to an entire year.

Outpatient treatment programs are more commonly used by people with gambling addictions. In this type of program, you will attend classes at a facility. You may also attend group sessions and one-on-one therapy. You will continue to live at home and participate in school, work, or other daily activities.

Gamblers Anonymous (GA), or other 12-step programs, may also help you overcome your gambling addiction. This type of program may be especially helpful if you cant afford more intensive rehabilitation options. It follows the same model as Alcoholics Anonymous, helping you build a support network of other recovered gambling addicts. You may meet with group members one or more times per week.

In addition to group counseling or support sessions, you may also benefit from one-on-one therapy. Gambling addiction can stem from deeper emotional or avoidance issues. You will need to deal with these underlying issues in order to change self-destructive patterns, including your gambling addiction. Counseling gives you a place to open up and address these problems.

In some cases, you may need medication to help you overcome your gambling urges. Your gambling addiction might result from an underlying mental health condition, such as bipolar disorder. In these cases, you must learn to manage the underlying condition to develop better impulse control.

Dealing with the financial consequences of gambling is sometimes the hardest part of the recovery process. In the beginning, you may need to turn over financial responsibilities to a spouse or trusted friend. You may also need to avoid places and situations that can trigger your urge to gamble, such as casinos or sporting events.

If you suspect you or someone you love has a gambling addiction, talk to your doctor or mental health professional. They can help you find the information and support you need. Several organizations also provide information about gambling addiction and treatment options. They can help guide you to local or online support services.

You may find the following organizations and resources helpful:

Like any addiction, compulsive gambling can be difficult to stop. You may find it embarrassing to admit that you have a problem, especially since many people gamble socially without developing an addiction. Overcoming the shame or embarrassment that you feel will be a big step on the road to recovery.

A recovery program, one-on-one counseling, medication, and lifestyle changes may help you overcome your gambling addiction. If you dont treat your gambling problem, it can lead to serious financial issues. It can also negatively affect your relationships with family members, friends, and others. Effective treatment can help you avoid these consequences and mend your relationships through recovery.

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Gambling Addiction: Symptoms, Causes, and Treatment

Gambling Addiction – Signs, Symptoms & Treatment for …

Posted on July 21, 2020 by Danzig

Medically reviewed: 06/22/2018 Last updated: 04/17/2020 Author: Addictions.com Medical Review

Reading Time: 7 minutes

Gambling addiction or gambling disorder is defined as persistent and recurring problematic gambling behavior that causes distress and impairs your overall livelihood. Gambling addiction affects roughly 0.2% to 0.3% of the general U.S. population, and tends to affects males more than females, though this gender gap has narrowed in recent years. Gambling disorder is a behavioral addiction that can be effectively treated using a range of cognitive and behavioral therapies.

The desire to buy scratch tickets, play slot machines, and visit casinos arent necessarily signs of gambling addiction. But when the desire to gamble becomes overwhelming to the point you cant stop thinking about it until you gamble on something, may be a sign you need help. Those who suffer from gambling addiction will continue to gamble despite negative financial, legal, and social consequences.

Gambling disorder is a brain disease that can cause you to do things you wouldnt normally do if you werent suffering from addiction. Behavioral addictions like gambling disorder are often difficult to manage and control without getting professional help. Addiction treatment centers can help you overcome gambling addiction and teach you important skills aimed at helping you repair problems in your life caused by your disorder.

There are no physical health symptoms associated with gambling disorder. Familiarizing yourself with common gambling addiction behaviors can clue you into whether you or a loved one may need professional help.

Chasing after losses is the most common tell-tale sign of gambling disorder. This particular symptom is marked by the urgent need to continue gambling to earn back a loss or series of losses. Individuals diagnosed with gambling disorder may abandon their usual gambling strategies to win back all losses at once and may lie to family, friends, and therapists to hide the severity of their addiction.

Those with a mild gambling addiction may exhibit between four and five of these behaviors, while those with a moderately severe gambling addiction may exhibit six to seven of these behaviors. People who suffer from severe gambling addiction will usually exhibit all nine behaviors. Moderate to severe cases of gambling disorder tend to be more common than mild cases.

Gambling addiction can produce many more negative effects than just financial hardship. Gambling disorder can affect your physical health, mental health, and social functioning, and lead to the loss of important relationships with friends and loved ones. You may also suffer a decline in work or school performance, and feel more restless and bored with all other areas of life that dont involve gambling.

Those who suffer from gambling addiction tend to suffer from higher rates of poor general health than those who dont gamble. Tachycardia and angina are common health problems among those diagnosed with gambling addiction. Many who suffer from gambling disorder also tend to experience distortions in thinking surrounding their addiction, such as superstitions, overconfidence, and a sense of power over the outcome of chance events. Nearly 50% of those receiving treatment for gambling disorder experience suicidal ideation, while an estimated 17% have tried to commit suicide.

Alcohol and cocaine are the two most common substances associated with gambling and binge gambling, respectively. Alcohol is legally available in most gambling settings such as bars and casinos and is often rewarded to gamblers for free at many of these establishments. Roughly 44% of people with gambling disorder in the U.S. also suffer from an alcohol use disorder.

Binge gambling is defined as intermittent episodes of uncontrolled gambling after long periods of abstinence. For instance, a person who practices binge gambling may only visit the casino five times per year but gamble non-stop for long periods during their stay. Cocaine use tends to be common among these gamblers since it produces stimulating effects of increased energy, alertness, focus, concentration, and confidence.

Individuals with gambling disorders tend to suffer higher rates of co-occurring alcohol and drug use disorders compared to their peers. Gambling often takes place in environments that enable and encourage alcohol and drug use. Gambling can also trigger mental health conditions like anxiety and depression, which many may self-treat using alcohol and drugs like marijuana, painkillers, and other addictive substances.

Gambling addiction is commonly treated using cognitive and behavioral therapies that treat the root psychological causes of your addiction. These therapies also help you identify and change negative, unhealthy thoughts and behaviors that may have led to your gambling addiction. Treatments for gambling addiction can be tailored especially for you or your loved one based on the factors surrounding your disorder.

Gambling addiction can also be treated using community reinforcement, group therapy, and 12-step support groups like Gamblers Anonymous.These treatments help you identify your triggers that can lead to gambling and teach you ways to overcome and manage those triggers. For instance, if a stressful day at work usually makes you feel like gambling, you may learn yoga, deep breathing, or other healthy methods that relieve stress without putting your health and well-being at risk.

If you or someone you love needstreatment for gambling addiction, its important that you use a treatment approach that best suits your recovery needs.Gambling addiction treatment is available in many different settings, including inpatient and outpatient treatment settings.

Inpatient gambling addiction treatment can greatly benefit those who suffer from severe gambling disorder, and who have suffered severe financial, legal, or social problems.Inpatient treatment includes around-the-clock supervision in a hospital-like setting where you can live for the duration of your treatment program. The intense level of therapy, counseling, and supervision provided by inpatient treatment centers can help significantly reduce the risk of relapse while in recovery.

Compulsive gamblers often need support from friends, family members, and peers to help them stop gambling.Gamblers Anonymous groups can provide peer and social support for those in recovery or for those who wish they can stop gambling.These groups can provide a solid, healthy foundation for a successful and long-term recovery from gambling addiction.

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Gambling Addiction - Signs, Symptoms & Treatment for ...

US sportsbooks are about to gamble big time with sports gambling – CalvinAyre.com

Posted on July 21, 2020 by Danzig

The NBA, NHL and MLB are about to reboot their seasons, all of which were canceled due to the coronavirus. MLS has already gotten underway, becoming the first major U.S. sports organization to take to the field. As all of these start to get rolling, the NFL should be next, if it can launch in September, and sports fans will finally be able to get their fix. Sportsbooks are just as anxious as anyone to see sports action come back to life, but many are about to go into the market completely blind. Some even refer to the upcoming sports gambling activity as a complete crapshoot.

For generations, putting up lines has been a fairly routine activity oversimplifying things, there are two teams, one viewed as having better chances to beat the other. Parlay bets came in and added a new component that livened things up a bit and attracted a lot of attention. However, the coronavirus is forcing sportsbooks to take a look at how they set up their lines, as things like empty stadiums, positive coronavirus tests for athletes and much more impact the outcome of a game. According to Nick Bogdanovich of William Hill U.S., sportsbooks can expect whats coming to be a complete crapshoot with all the unknowns. He adds, Were just going to have to react as fast as humanly possible. Its going to be a wild time.

Sportsbooks base their positions on analysis and instincts two concepts that are intrinsically intertwined in the sports gambling world. However, its difficult to provide proper analysis when there has never been a situation like the one sports is currently facing due to the COVID-19 pandemic. That changes the panorama completely, and oddsmakers will have to be prepared to make adjustments on the fly in order to stay ahead.

The director of operations at DraftKings, Johnny Avello, shares Bogdanovichs concerns. He asserts, The totals are a little tricky. We dont know what thats going to be like without fans in the stands. Is that going to make [teams] score more than they would normally score because they are focused? Or is it going to be less because their momentum isnt driven [by the roar of a crowd?] That is something were going to keep a close eye on.

In the case of MLB, there is no hub for games like what has been seen with the NHL and NBA. This means that teams will play home and away games like they always have. Home teams are sometimes given an advantage because they play in front of their own fans, which can throw off the visiting teams, and are more accustomed to the ballpark. However, there are no fans this year and, in the case of the Toronto Blue Jays, theres not even a home field. It usually plays at Rogers Centre but, because the team has to travel to and from the U.S., it has been banned from playing games at the stadium.

That will force changes in odds, as well, depending on where the Blue Jays end up. It isnt possible to know whats going to happen, and sportsbooks will just have to take it day by day. They certainly have their work cut out for them.

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US sportsbooks are about to gamble big time with sports gambling - CalvinAyre.com

Gambling Industry Announcement and Partnership Roundup – July 21, 2020 – CalvinAyre.com

Posted on July 21, 2020 by Danzig

In the fast moving world of gambling, sometimes you might miss news that could be important to you. To make sure youre all caught up on gaming industry news, be it online or brick and mortar, were rounding up the some of the announcements and partnerships from the last week that you might have missed.

Dont miss out on all of the latest announcements. Our Press Release section is updated constantly

Nolimit City cuts the ribbon on Lithuania with Cbet.lt partnership

Addressing the ever-growing landscape of exciting markets in the EU has been on the agenda for the Malta based supplier for a while now. The partnership is the first from a healthy list of upcoming markets ahead. Lithuania sees a robust gambling regime which bolster a healthy forecast in sight.

This marks the first of such kind partnership thanks to the young and ambitious home-grown Cbet.lt, who offer the full entertainment experience to Lithuanian players who come to the brand for several reasons, most notably their great choice in sports trading library not to mention a great choice of slot games.

Cbet.lt will be the first to host the Software Providers list of popular game titles on an exclusive first to market collaboration ahead of the curve. The two joint forces with one scope in mind, thats to deliver a class experience whilst also exposing both brands. Cbet.lt have gone live with some of Nolimit Citys most known titles, including; Tombstone, Punk Rocker and Deadwood amongst several other great titles.

Salsa Technology agrees content exchange deal with CT Gaming Interactive

Salsa Technology and CT Gaming Interactive have agreed terms on a proprietary content exchange deal.

CT Gaming Interactives versatile and successful HTML5 games portfolio will be added to Salsa Technologys thriving Game Aggregator Platform (GAP).

In return, Salsa Technologys rich library of Video Bingos will be integrated onto CT Gaming Interactives Leopard platform. Candy Bingo, Super Zodiac Bingo and Farm Bingo are just a few of the games included in the exchange deal.

Sky Infotech Launches Affiliate Programme with Income Access

Sky Infotech, an online gaming provider specialising in online sportsbooks and casinos, has announced the launch of its new SkyInfoPartners affiliate programme with Income Access, Paysafes marketing technology and services provider. The programme will be powered by Income Access affiliate software platform, which will be used to encourage optimisation and growth across three unique Sky Infotech brands.

Founded in 2017, Sky Infotech operates Bet4Plus, Betbarter and Skylive Casino, which combine to offer a variety of sportsbook, casino, live casino, virtual games, betgames and bingo products. Dedicated to remaining at the forefront of the iGaming industry by leveraging the latest technologies, Sky Infotech designs entertaining gameplay experiences that provide unique player offers and game features for a wide array of audiences.

Through its integration with Income Access, the SkyInfoPartners programme and its affiliates will leverage advanced reporting and tracking technology to make strategic marketing decisions based on performance data. Affiliates will have access to a variety of assets, including custom creatives which are tailored to specific affiliates and events, to enhance their promotion of the respective brands. The SkyInfoPartners team will also provide affiliates with 24/7 support to ensure swift response times.

Affiliates will have the opportunity to promote Bet4Plus and its comprehensive list of wagering options for both sports and esports, including popular titles such as Call of Duty, Counter-Strike, Dota 2 and League of Legends. Betbarter, which also offers an array of sports betting and casino products, is bolstered by an innovative betting exchange platform, while Skylive Casino has an extensive collection of complementary games to support its main casino product.

SkyInfoPartners affiliates will be compensated via flexible commission schemes which can be negotiated based on specific needs and performance. Revenue share commissions of up to 40% will be available, alongside tailored CPA models. The programme will also award an Affiliate of the Year based on generated revenue.

Rapid growth sees Digital Fuel Marketing further bolster affiliate management team

As one of the leading digital marketing agencies in the iGaming space, Digital Fuel Marketing has recently hired industry affiliate expert Dennis ter Hamsel to further bolster their affiliate management offering to new and existing clients.

Digital Fuel Marketings affiliate management team is growing rapidly. They currently manage affiliate programmes for multiple brands across the UK, US and Australia including Unikrn Esports, Puntt, Volt Casino, Blue Bet, Hollywood Affiliates, Lottomart and more.

Dennis ter Hamsel joins Digital Fuel Marketing from BSIP BV. With almost six years experience on the affiliate side of the iGaming spectrum, first as a content & community manager and later on as Operational Manager and Head of Sales and Business Development, he brings an insider perspective to the Digital Fuel Marketing team.

Dennis is the latest addition to the growing affiliate management function, led by Affiliate Director Alison Batchelor, with iGaming experience in the affiliate space since 2003. Dennis is the third new member of the team this year with Dan Stanton and Callie Dove, also joining , to offer clients an unrivalled level of affiliate marketing experience. Digital Fuel Marketings highly skilled team are adept at delivering full affiliate program strategy from concept and launch through to ongoing delivery and management.

Amelco integrates IDComply into US BetWildwood platform

Amelco, the leading sports betting software and trading services provider, and ISI Race & Sports, have partnered with GeoComply, the geolocation services provider, to support the launch of BetWildwood in Colorado.

The joint venture, which has seen Amelco partner with ISI Race & Sports to deliver Wildwood Casinos upcoming sports betting platform, is now set to include GeoComplys IDComply age and identity verification services along with its geolocational compliance suite.

By integrating age and identity verification along with GeoComplys award-winning geolocation tools, BetWildwood is set to streamline its operations significantly by managing both KYC and compliance processes from the same back-office and API.

EveryMatrix to launch ARCADEM as the first RGS Matrix client

EveryMatrix is pleased to announce the launch of its first RGS Matrix client. ARCADEM, an up-and-coming gaming studio, will leverage RGS Matrix to make, deploy and distribute its entire gaming portfolio. ARCADEMs first slot game, The Neon Samurai Kawa, was built entirely on RGS Matrix proprietary platform and is scheduled for release in September.

RGS Matrixwas launched last year as EveryMatrix sixth standalone product. It is also the platform used by Spearhead Studios, the gaming development studio within the Group.

RGS Matrix is an out of the box remote gaming server that enables game development by 1st and 3rd party development teams while providing necessary means to distribute, manage, and report upon a proprietary game product portfolio.

Similar to EveryMatrixs CasinoEngine, RGS Matrix is built on an open architecture and aims to be the platform of choice for independent studios looking for a strong platform to develop, operate, and sell games.

RGS Matrix powers slots and table games, and is currently certified for Malta, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Sweden, Spain, Denmark, and Colombia, with many jurisdictions to come in the upcoming years.

Online Casino and Sportsbook BETZEST goes live with payment provider SiruMobile

Online Casino and Sportsbook Betzest announced a new partnership with leading payment provider SiruMobile offering easy, instant, secure transactions for online gaming industry In Finnish market.

SiruMobile is already available on Betzest cashier, offering real-time payments for Finnish players.

Online Casino Betzest continues increasing its operations since its launch in July 2018. Betzest is quickly becoming one of worlds leading online gambling company offering top sports betting and casino games.

After a number of major key payment methods and casino providers launches over the past few months, this new cooperation represents another big step in Betzest rapid extension in Finnish market. The company is looking forward to even more planned partnerships with top game providers and payment methods already by the end of Q3, 2020.

Red Tiger launches with SKS365

Casino game and software developer Red Tiger has partnered with European operator SKS365 to enrich the casino offering of its popular brand Planetwin365.

The agreement sees almost 50 of the suppliers innovative titles go live, with more games from its award-winning catalogue set to be rolled out in the coming months.

Planetwin365 is one of the biggest brands in Italy and the new deal builds on Red Tigers sustained growth in regulated European markets following a succession of commercial partnerships.

Relax Gaming teams up with brand-new operator Casino Days

Relax Gaming,igaming aggregator and supplier of unique content, has joined forces with Casino Days to launch its extensive portfolio with the young online casino brand.

The suppliers collection of in-house games will be among the first titles to go live, including popular slotsTemple TumbleandMoney Train,as well as recent strong performersSnake ArenaandHellcatraz.

Relaxs vast library of third-party studio games will also be made available, providing the operator with aggregated content from innovative brands such as ReelPlay, 4ThePlayer and Fantasma Games.

As a brand-new name in the industry, the Gibraltar-based Casino Days adds another up-and-coming online casino to Relaxs fast-growing client base, which has grown significantly in recent months with major deals signed across Europe.

Skywind Group and Interwetten Announce Partnership

Skywind Group and Interwetten are going live together. Interwetten players are to gain access to more than 300 casino games, innovative engagement tools and Skywinds unique live casino games.

Interwetten is a well establish operation known as a pioneer in the iGaming sphere as they went online ealrly on in 1997, offering its players comprehensive live betting offers, including sports betting, virtual sports, live casinos and a wide variety of casino and skill games.

This partnership will provide Interwetten with a wide variety of premium, innovative video slot games, as well as acces to all upcoming games, both classic slots, innovative slots and real-money arcade games. Games such as Combat Masters, Rain Balls, and Jokers Luck will be available along with a range of highly popular branded games, including Lothar Matthaus. Be a winner, The Last Kingdom and Bloodsport.

Skywinds player engagement tools include split pot jackpots, time and amount based jackpots, in-game tournaments and the innovative reward system based on vitual currency, Bonus Coins.

PandaScore signs esports odds, data & Widget agreements with Betcris and Pixel.bet

International operators looking to capitalise on the boom in esports betting need look no further than PandaScore, the market leader for in-play esports odds and statistics. This week, the esports data provider celebrated a pair of significant new client wins having been selected by both Betcris and Pixel.bet.

Founded in 2015, PandaScore has grown exponentially as esports betting has exploded in popularity around the world. With offices in Paris and Malta and highly reliable proprietary artificial intelligence at its core, PandaScore has become a frontrunner in the provision of real time esports odds and data which has now been integrated with leading Latin American sportsbook Betcris.

Many leading operators and traditional bookmakers have mitigated the lack of summer sport in lockdown by pivoting towards esports and the vertical, already growing in popularity incrementally, has boomed as a result. High volume operators such as Betcris require a stable, reliable and comprehensive solution for their esports data and odds needs all things PandaScore consistently delivers for its clients.

Additionally, PandaScore recently launched its innovative esports stats Widgets through an integration with leading esports bookmaker Pixel.bet. The new Widgets are designed to give esports bettors all the information they need to bet confidently. Players can see data on recent wins and losses, head-to-head records and in-game performance statistics at the touch of a button.

Esports bookmakers have traditionally struggled to provide engaging content to fans because accurate data was unavailable. Building a custom Widget for multiple esports games was worth the effort, since esports fans rely on outside data for making astute betting decisions.

PandaScores esports Widgets are the most efficient and effective way for leading esports bookmakers like Pixel.bet to deliver relevant and near real time statistics to their players. Esports with the largest bet volume such as CS:GO, League of Legends, and Dota 2 are all featured within the Widgets with both pre-match and live data available.

When paired with PandaScores odds and data products as adopted by Betcris, the new Widgets offer an incomparable betting experience to esports fans around the world.

Kalamba Games continues expansion through new deal with SoftGamings

Kalamba Games has signed a new deal with SoftGamings to supply its casino content, further underlining the suppliers commitment to global growth.

Kalambas substantial portfolio of games will be made available on the platform, giving access to hit titles such as Miami Bonus Wheel, Blazing Bull, Sky Hunters and the newly released Griffins Quest.

SoftGamings, founded in 2008, is a leading supplier of white label casino solutions and the integration will ensure Kalamba further grows its global footprint and is the latest in a series of partnerships that will enable the firm to enhance its own RGS platform, Bullseye, set for a full roll out later this year.

Ellmount Gaming partners with Rightlander.com

Ellmount Gaming has signed a deal with Rightlander.com to improve affiliate compliance and boost their responsible gambling measures.

Under the deal,Rightlander.com will continue to offer its technologyproviding Ellmount access to a comprehensive range of affiliate compliance tools which include the Automated Compliance Monitor, PPC Monitor, Compliance Live and Affiliate Mapping Tools.

The Automated Compliance Monitor helps detect non-compliant content across geo-locations including the United Kingdom, Spain, Italy, Sweden and the USA. The monitor flags potential violations such as missing terms and conditions, outdated offers, incorrect marketing assets allowing Ellmount brands to remain compliant in different jurisdictions.

The innovative PPC Monitor identifies harmful ads to stop them from appearing on an operators branded keywords while the Affiliate Mapping Tool helps operators map previously undeclared affiliate sites to known affiliates.

Using Rightlander allows Ellmount to ensure that affiliates sending traffic to their websites are acting responsibly. Furthermore, it allows the operator to protect its brand online in a constantly changing environment.

Playzido Continues its Rapid Growth Trajectory with New Betsson Partnership.

B2B gaming platform Playzido continues on its rapid growth trajectory, by today announcing its latest operator launch with European gaming giant, Betsson.

Facilitated via iSoftbets GAP platform the agreement will see Playzidos top titles including Atlantis Megaways and the new Endemol Shine Gaming exclusive, Wrath of Gods, made available for players across Betsson owned brands, including their recently acquired GIG brands; Rizk, Guts, Kaboo and Thrills.

Betcris teams up with IMG ARENA to bring new virtual sports content to its operations

Betcris, one of the leading sports betting operators in Latin America, has signed a partnership with IMG ARENA to provide virtual sports and gaming solutions.

The content will be available to players at Betcris online sportsbook and casino as well as at the 100-plus venues it runs across Central and South America.

This new partnership includes 3D Slots, 3D Table Games, Scheduled Sports (including soccer, tennis and more), Instant Sports, Casino and others. The different products will be rolled out over time, giving Betcris the ability to provide maximum oversight of their integration into its platforms.

IMG ARENAs virtual sports portfolio harnesses cutting-edge, 3D motion technology from Leap Gaming to capture and recreate ultra-realistic versions of some of the worlds most popular sports.

The product suiteoffers a variety of virtual, high-end and customisable gaming alternatives to both online and retail operators. The content enables Betcris to significantly broaden its offering and appeal to players looking for different forms of entertainment, and brings some of the most sought-after gaming solutions to greater parts of the Latin American gaming market.

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Gambling Industry Announcement and Partnership Roundup - July 21, 2020 - CalvinAyre.com

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