Eni to Retake Industrial HPC Leadership Crown with Launch of HPC5 – HPCwire

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With the launch of its Dell-built HPC5 system, Italian energy company Eni regains its position atop the industrial supercomputing leaderboard. At 52-petaflops peak, HPC5 should easily crack the top ten fold of the next Top500 list, due out in June. If and when that happens, HPC5 will supplant Totals IBM Pangea III supercomputer, currently at number 11 with 17.9 Linpack petaflops out of 25 theoretical petaflops, as the top publicly ranked industrial HPC system.

HPC5 spans 1,820 Dell EMC PowerEdge C4140 servers, each with two Intel Gold 6252 24-core processors and four Nvidia V100 GPU accelerators. Servers are connected by Mellanox 200 Gb/s HDR Infiniband in a full non-blocking topology. The deployment includes a high-performance 15-petabyte storage system with 200 GB/s aggregate read/write speeds.

HPC5 joins Enis HPE-built HPC4 machine, which ranks 16 on the current Top500 list with 12.2 Linpack petaflops out of a theoretical 18.6 petaflops. Prior to Totals Pangea III deployment, HPC4 held the title of fastest industry supercomputer.

Both systems are housed inside Enis Green Data Center, located in Ferrera Erbognone in Pavia, Italy. Built on a former rice paddy, the Green Data Centre opened in 2013 to host all of Enis HPC architecture and its business applications.

With the new addition to their datacenter, Eni says its total aggregate supercomputing capacity reaches 70 peak petaflops. The upgraded and expanded capacity allows Eni to speed the processing of seismic images and employ much more sophisticated algorithms.

Partners Eni and Dell emphasized the projects sustainability goals, noting that the HPC5 supercomputer will accelerate R&D programs for the transition to non-fossil energy sources, and it has been designed to use the Green Data Centres solar power.

Among Enis designated strategic targets for the development of new energy sources and related processes are the generation of energy from the sea, magnetic confinement fusion, and other climate and environmental technologies to be developed in collaboration with research centers.

The launch of the new system also has some special significance for Dell EMC as the system maker continues to ascend the leadership computing ladder. Frontera at TACC (#5 on the Top500 with 23 Linpack petaflops) is currently the worlds fastest academic supercomputer, and with the installation at Eni, Dell can claim the number one industrial system as well.

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Leeds fans react as super computer tips them for the title – FootballFanCast.com

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2 minute read 7/2/2020 | 08:00pm

There are a few signs that were coming towards the end of winter.

Leaves are growing back on trees, the sun is staying out for a bit longer and TalkSPORT have once again wheeled out their infamous super computer.

Indeed the radio station continued their regular tradition of using their groundbreaking piece of technology to predict the Championship table, and it makes for good reading for Leeds fans.

Yes, according to the machine, the Whites 16-year wait for a place in the Premier League is finally going to come to an end as theyve been tipped to win the title.

Understandably, a number of United fans were happy to see their side top this table.

Of course, theres still a long way to go, but after winning just two of their last nine games it seems as though this was a much-needed boost for some members of the fanbase.

Others had their doubts about this prediction.

Four Three Two One

One fan jokingly asked whether or not the computer predicted Leeds to lose to Wigan, while others commented that a similar prediction was made last year after the Elland Road outfit were touted for a second-place finish and automatic promotion.

In other news, Leeds may miss Phillips and Forshaw more than ever on Saturday.

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Sometimes The Road To Petaflops Is Paved With Gold And Platinum – The Next Platform

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Supercomputing, with a few exceptions, is a shared resource that is allocated to users in a particular field or geography to run their simulations and models on systems that are much larger than they might otherwise be able to buy on their own. Call it a conservation of core-hour-dollars that allows a faster time to model in exchange for limited access.

So it is with the Norddeutschem Verbund fr Hoch- und Hchstleistungsrechnen (HLRN) supercomputing alliance in Northern Germany. The HLRN consortium, which provides calculating oomph for the German federal states of Berlin, Brandenburg, Bremen, Hamburg, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Lower Saxony, and Schleswig-Holstein, has used a variety of different architectures from different vendors over the past several decades, and as such is representative of mainstream HPC shops that, as we pointed out recently, comprise the majority of the revenue stream in the HPC sector and account for thousands of HPC facilities worldwide. HLRN in particular has a very large number of university and research institution users, at close to 200, all jockeying for time on the system, so adding capacity makes the lines a bit shorter, at least in theory.

The second phase of the HLRN-IV supercomputer, known by the nickname Lise after Lise Meitner, an Austrian-Swedish physicist who was one of the discoverers of nuclear fission in 1939, has fired up recently, and the machine is noteworthy for a few reasons. First, Atos is the prime contractor on the machine, and second, it is based on the doubled-up Cascade Lake-AP Xeon SP-9200 Platinum processors that Intel launched last April and that are employed in custom enclosures that Intel itself manufactures.

Since its founding in 2001, the HLRN consortium has operated a distributed system across two datacenters; one is usually at the Zuse Institute Berlin and the other has been located at Leibniz University in Hannover or at the University of Gottingen. The initial HLRN-I system, which was called Hanni and Berni across its two halves, was comprised each of a 16 node cluster of IBMs RS/6000 p690 servers based on its dual-core Power4 processors, which debuted that year. The p690 machines had 32 sockets and 64 GB of main memory each and were connected by a proprietary federation interconnect that IBM created for its parallel NUMA systems. This HLRN-I machine had 26 TB of disk capacity and had a peak performance of 2 teraflops at 64-bit double precision. You can get a graphics card with way more floating point performance these days, and it fits in your hand instead of taking up two datacenters.

In 2008, these systems were upgraded wit a pair of Altix ICE supercomputers from Silicon Graphics in Berlin and Hannover, called Bice and Hice naturally. This system had a mix of NUMA and scale-out nodes. The NUMA nodes were comprised of a mix of two-socket Altix XE 250 nodes and two-socket Altix UV 1000 nodes using a mix of Xeon processors from Intel (four-core and eight-core chips with fatter memory) and the NUMAlink5 interconnect to share the memory across the 2,816 cores and 12.5 TB of main memory across the 200 nodes in the machine. The regular, scale-out part of each side of the HLRN-II system had a mix of two generations of Xeon processors across its 10,240 cores in 1,280 nodes and a total of 12.1 TB of main memory. Add it all up and the HLRN-II machine had 124.76 teraflops of double precision floating point calculating capacity; this was balanced out by an 810 TB Lustre parallel file system.

Enter HLRN-III in 2013, which we wrote about five years later. This machine, which cost $39 million and which was built in phases like prior systems using a mix of generations. In this case, by Cray based on its Cascades XC30 and XC40 system designs and their Aries interconnect. The HLRN-III systems were nicknamed Konrad and Gottfried and they each used a mix of Ivy Bridge and Haswell Xeon processors, with the Berlin system having a total of 1,872 nodes with 44,928 cores and 117 TB of memory yielding a peak performance of 1.4 petaflops and the University of Leibniz (which is where the Gottfried name comes from, the mathematician and co-creator of calculus) had a total of 1.24 petaflops of oomph and 105 TB of memory across its 1,680 nodes and 40,320 cores. Each machine had a 3.7 PB Lustre file system and a 500 TB GPFS file system.

With the HLRN-IV system, the two halves are not just a little bit different, but really distinct systems that were installed at different times. The Emmy system at the University of Gottingen, which was operational in October 2018, was named after groundbreaking German mathematician Amalie Emmy Noether, who blazed a trail for women in that field as much as Meitner did in physics. The Emmy system at Gottingen had 449 nodes, with 448 of them having just Skylake Xeon SP-6148 Gold processors and one of them having four Volta Tesla V100 GPU accelerators from Nvidia added. Not counting that GPU-accelerated system, Emmy had 17,920 cores across its 448 nodes and 93 TB of memory. These nodes were interlinked with a 100 Gb/sec Omni-Path interconnect from Intel, and its performance was never divulged. Presumably Emmy will be upgraded at some point to deliver the expected 16 petaflops of aggregate performance

The Lise half of the system in Berlin, which is just coming online, has significantly more computational power than that initial Emmy partition in Gottingen. This system currently has 1,180 nodes with 113,280 cores in total using a pair of the Xeon AP-9242 Platinum chips per node, which themselves put two 24 core Cascade Lake processors into a single socket for a total of four chips and 96 cores per node. These nodes are also interlinked with 100 Gb/sec Omni-Path interconnect. This machine is noteworthy in that it is showcasing Intels multichip Cascade Lake-AP processors, which have not really dented the attack by the AMD Epyc processors and which are not exactly taking the HPC market by storm. (We suspect HLRN got a great deal on these Intel Cascade Lake-AP chips and the servers that sport them, with Atos as the system integrator hopefully making some dough.) Back in November 2019, when the Lise system was tested with 103,680 of its cores on the Linpack benchmark, it was rated at 5.36 petaflops, so there must be some pretty big upgrades on the horizon to get to the 16 petaflops and more than 200,000 cores that the final HLRN-IV system (Emmy plus Lise) will eventually encompass. The completed system with all of those 16 petaflops spread across the Berlin and Gottingen sites will cost 30 million, or about $32.6 million.

The interesting bit as far as we are concerned is that the combined HLRN-IV system will have 6.2X more double precision performance at 16.4 percent lower cost than the HLRN-III system it replaced seven years later. This illustrates the principal that we have talked about before, which is that it is far easier to increase the performance of a supercomputer than it is to lower its price. HPC centers have tended to budget linearly over the decades, but it is getting more expensive to make the flops leaps. Still, a 7.4X improvement in bang for the buck over seven years can get a deal done.

We realize that our bang for the buck comparisons are imprecise because of the lack of publicly available data on supercomputer costs over time, but at around $15,000 per teraflops back in 2013, the HLRN-III cluster was twice as expensive per flops as Tianhe-2 system in China, which used GPU accelerators, but about half the price of the all-CPU and very custom PrimeHPC systems from Fujitsu that were inspired by the K supercomputer at RIKEN lab in Japan. The price of systems, particularly those that used accelerators, dropped significantly between 2013 and 2018, and GPU accelerated machines like Summit and Sierra cost just north of $1,000 per teraflops around the time the all-CPU Emmy portion of the HLRN-IV system was going in, which cost $2,038 per teraflops at current euro to dollar exchange rates. Call it two grand.

So in general, all-CPU machines are, it seems, more expensive, and this stands to reason. The programming is harder for GPU accelerated machines, and that costs money, too. Or, you can as many HPC centers do outside of the largest national labs, stick with all-CPU architectures and pay the premium there. GPU-accelerated exascale machines due to be installed in the United States in 2021 through 2023 will cost on the order of $400 per teraflops, and we suspect that all-CPU systems over that timeframe will cost 2X to 3X that per teraflops. None of that counts the facilities or electricity costs that come with the architecture choices, of course. As best we can figure.

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Follow-up: Virologists and supercomputer need to conquer the coronavirus – Innovation Origins

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In our weekly follow-up column we feature a sequel to the best-read article of the past week. This week: An Austrian start-up discovers an already existing drug that could potentially be used against the coronavirus.

The number of people who have died from the coronavirus has now risen to over 800. The virus has thus claimed more victims than the SARS epidemic did in 2002 and 2003. At the moment, almost 35,000 people worldwide are infected with the coronavirus according to the World Health Organization.

Scientists all over the world are trying to find a cure for the virus. However, before there is any such cure, nothing else can be done except take precautions. Make sure precautionary measures are taken so that the virus cannot spread any further, Harald Wychgel of the RIVM explains. In China you see that entire cities are on lock down. The number of infections in the EU is not that high, but it is important that we are vigilant about this. Were taking precautions in order to prevent it from spreading.

Virologists claim that it will take at least another year before a drug against the virus is released on the market. Research is being done on vaccines where a weakened version of the virus is injected into the body. This causes the body to produce antibodies, which become active when the body becomes infected by the virus. Research is also underway to find a means of preventing the virus from spreading more widely. Just like the way HIV inhibitors work. But before such a drug is approved, a lot of time is wasted on trial and error, Wychgel says.

But what if you could tackle the coronavirus with an established drug that has already been approved for use in human beings? Which is exactly what Innophore does. Theyre an Austrian company that originated as a spin-off from the University of Graz. They do whats referred to as drug repurposing. As in when an established drug is applied in a new way. Which in itself is not so novel, says founder Christian Gruber. Viagra was originally intended to regulate blood pressure. Thanks to repurposing, it has been given a whole new purpose.

Gruber believes that the main advantage of this research method is the time it takes. It is no longer necessary to conduct clinical trials as the drug has already been approved for use in humans. But how do you discover other applications for established medicines? Gruber and his team developed a powerful search engine for this purpose. Normally, a platform searches for a match between a compound (substance that has the potential to fight a disease) and the virus. But were not looking for a compound. We look, so to speak, inside the void where a compound binds to the virus. This is based on machine learning and weve been working on it since 2011.

Gruber got involved when the genome sequence of the virus was catalogued in one of the three largest DNA databases in the world. We decided right away that whatever happens, we dont want to make a profit from this. This is because we have contacts in China too, its terrible whats happening there right now.

And that worked, because within a few hours the Gruber team came up with what are known as protease inhibitors (substances that prevent the virus from spreading further). The virus has the same structure as the SARS virus. So we explored all the databases that we can access, looking for possible targets. These include HIV inhibitors, for example.

The model that Gruber published was downloaded by researchers all over the world. Incredible. Normally, a handful of researchers in that particular area look at that kind of model. Since we published the model, our inboxes have been overflowing. Were getting proposals for research collaborations from universities and institutes that we would never have dreamed of before.

Gruber is proud of this, yet he doesnt want to take too much credit either. We were the first to publicize it and share it with the rest of the world. But in China, scientists have been working behind the scenes for much longer, reviewing and testing our findings so that they can be quickly tested on people. But its great that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in China are grateful to us and want to continue working with us.

Gruber is currently busy drafting a research proposal for the European Union. The EU has set aside an emergency budget of 10 million for research into the coronavirus. We have scientists from all over the world Oxford, Graz, Harvard, medical universities in Germany and the technical university in Wuhan. Were working on the proposal together with a group of fifty to seventy people.

In the proposal, the scientists want to link various research platforms and databases and provide them with an automated response platform. Think of it as a kind of robot that immediately springs into action in the event of a new outbreak of a virus and searches for available medication that can also be used for that new virus. By joining forces, it should even be possible to find other compounds that may help prevent viruses. The coronavirus in this case.

The best case scenario is that the virus is already under control and we are able to focus on other diseases or viruses, Gruber says. We also want to ensure that all of the information is always available. Luckily it has never happened before but what if an outbreak prevents you from being able to access that information? We want to have secure cloud storage. And we need to make sure that all available platforms can bundle information in a worthwhile way. I am very excited about this project. When it gets off the ground we will be using the most advanced technology available, a dream come true for us.

However, the priority right now is to contain the coronavirus. When I read the reports about cruise ships where people have been infected, I get the shivers. Imagine being aboard one of those ships. I can very well imagine how frightened passengers are. Thats why its so important to have an automated search engine that will quickly come up with viable options. Im not a virologist and I dont have much to say about epidemics, but the sooner resources are available to contain viruses, the better.

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Follow-up: Virologists and supercomputer need to conquer the coronavirus - Innovation Origins

Drive-by shooting on Hilton Head Island has neighbor concerned, angry – WSAV-TV

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Tamberly Thompson reached out to News 3 to try and get answers and some help finding who is responsible

by: Andrew Davis

HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C. (WSAV) There is a concern and in some cases fear among the residents of one Hilton Head Island community.

Tamberly Thompson reached out to News 3 after someone fired shots into a home nearby. It happened at the Bridgetown Apartments Monday night.

All we heard was pow pow pow pow, she said. We had no idea what it was.

Neighbors say they heard 10 shots ringing out next to their door just after 10 p.m.

You see that hole there? You see that hole above that window? Thompson pointe out. Somebody come down Leg O Mutton Road shooting at this house, hitting it. We counted somewhere upward of eight times and there are three more by the front door.

Thompson can point out every bullet hole that came from an apparent drive-by shooting next door to her home.

It never really crossed our mind that we were having gunfire shot at a building where kids sleep. Where right next store there are babies that sleep, said an emotional Thompson. This is not Chicago or a big city, this is small Hilton Head.

The small holes from those bullets now litter the side of the condos.

That was meant for harm. That was meant for somebodys death, believes Thompson.

She says its a sight that scares her.

I walk my dog through here at night. People park right there at night, Thompson said.

Just five minutes before all this happened my roommate was coming through just to get to the house, she continued. I cant let my babies ride their bicycles out here.

Thompson reached out for help not just because shes frightened shes angry.

People made fun of me because I wanted to put this on the news, said a tearful Thompson. But I have to let you know why does somebody have to get killed in order to get someone to stand up and say, What the hell are yall doing.'

The Beaufort County Sheriffs Office said this is the second incident of this type in the past three days. The other was on Squire Pope Road.

Deputies are now investigating the possibility of a link between these two shootings. Investigators say they are stepping up their efforts to make sure that everyone in this area is safe and whoever is responsible is brought to justice.

Im not letting some rodent run me out this is my home thats why Im talking out and telling everybody, Thompson said, adding, I dont know what your beef is with them but we aint got nothing to do with it.

Yall need to take that elsewhere or just stop altogether.

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Drive-by shooting on Hilton Head Island has neighbor concerned, angry - WSAV-TV

Is Love Island scripted – are contestants told what to say? – Metro.co.uk

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Is the drama too good to be true? (Picture: ITV)

Theres been no shortage of drama on winter Love Island, which has packed in all the usual recouplings, quarreling and mugging off that weve come to expect from the dating show.

While this year has been a little quieter than previous ones, weve seen Callum Jones ditch Shaughna Phillips for Molly Smith, Luke Mabbott getting messed around by just about everyone, and a fair few love triangles.

But Shaughnas confession she might have feelings for Luke M has seemingly proven too much for some Twitter users.

One person wrote: Im gonna be fuming if Shaughna and Luke M happens, its painfully staged.

Just days ago, Luke Ms pairing with Demi raised similar concerns.

One user said: Absolutely love Demi and luke but that was so staged, yesterday the public was like omg they would be so cute together and all of a sudden she likes him a bit absolutely gassed for them but I hope they werent told to do that #loveisland while another moaned: Love island is just becoming so staged.

In the past, people have also suggested the show uses actors after eagle-eyed viewers believe one girl featured in the local shop as a check-out girl and in the Island club behind the bar.

So, how real is the action in the villa and do relationships take off organically or are they engineered by producers?

This week, Sophie Piper hinted that producers orchestrated some of the scenes which led to explosive rows in the villa.

Rochelle Humes younger sister said bosses would steer the islanders to talk about particular topics during their time on the reality show, although she insists Love Island isnt massively staged.

When asked whether things were staged or if they happened organically she claimed: A bit of both, but its not massively staged. Producers might suggest, Why dont you talk about this and that?

Tyla Carr, a 2017 contestant, went further, alleging that certain moments had to be re-enacted again and again.

She said: You have to tell the producers on-site if you are planning to have an important chat or do something, she said. So they make sure the microphones pick it up and the cameras get it.

If you forget they would call you in and ask you to film it again. Liv Attwood had to dump Sam Gowland twice last year, which was embarrassing for both of them!

In 2019 a whistleblower told Mail on Sunday that many of the on-screen scenarios are very, very fake and that contestants are given lines to learn however the show has strongly denied these claims,

And some former islanders have said the show appears to now be scripted but that this is a new phenomenon.

Malin Andersson, who took part in the second series of Love Island, told Metro.co.uk it was sad to see scripted moments saying it takes away the innocence of finding love on the show.

The Sun also claimed in 2018 there was a 408-page cheat manual that detailed how the islanders could manipulate votes to get their love rivals out of the villa.

While the show is centered around them living in a villa, the islanders do get to leave it every now and then, although viewers never get to see these private moments.

The show takes a break on Saturdays to give the islanders time to relax.

Former contestant Chris Williamson once explained: There was a day every week where footage wasnt needed, which was liberating as you could talk about anything.

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Contestants Montana Brown and Amber Davis were once spotted getting their hair and nails done outside of the villa.

Ovie was apparently even given a makeshift basketball court to practice in during last summers series.

When they are out of the villa, islanders reportedly are not allowed to talk about the show.

Love Island bosses have staunchly denied any of these allocations, refuting the report and that scenes are staged.

A spokesperson from the show said: As anyone who watches the show regularly would know, Love Island is a combination of reality and produced elements that are reflective of whats happening in the villa, and is a fair and accurate representation of villa life.

It is absolutely untrue to suggest that Love Island is fake, staged or scripted.The opinions they have and the relationships formed are completely within the control of the Islanders themselves.

Love Island continues tonight at 9pm on ITV

MORE: Love Island spoiler: Shaughna admits she has feelings for Luke M and we did not see this coming

MORE: Love Island bosses cut summer series by two weeks and it has always been planned that way

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Fantasy Island Clips Tell You the Rules of That Wild Island – /FILM

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Blumhouse went ahead and turnedFantasy Island, the classic TV series, into a horror movie. Why? Because they can. And it might turn out to be pretty good! The footage released so far looks fun, in a silly sort of way, and theres nothing wrong with that. Three newFantasy Island clips showcase how the island turns your deepest fantasy into a potential nightmare.

Ill confess that I thinkFantasy Island looks promising about as promising as any potentialFantasy Island movie can be. That said, the way Blumhouse and Sony are handling it gives me pause.Fantasy Island is not screening for critics, and honestly, thats not that surprising. It happens a lot with genre films like this. Whatis surprising, though, is that there are no Thursday night screenings of the film. Pretty muchevery movie gets an advance Thursday night screening at this point. But notFantasy Island. That suggests the studio really,really doesnt want any advance word about the film to get out. Fingers crossed that isnt a sign of something bad to come.

In the first clip, Michael Peas Mr. Roarke lays out the rules of his magical, fantastical, potentially deadly island. There are only two rules, really. One is that theres only one fantasy per guest. The second is that all guests must see all fantasies through until their natural conclusion,no matter what. The no matter what part is probably a giveaway that something bad is afoot.

The second part is all about an elevator. Sounds harmless, right?Wrong. The elevator takes you to a dark and scary basement, which is never a good sign.

This final clip has characters wonderinghow all the magical fantasies on Fantasy Island come to pass. Needless to say, theres no clear answer. Youll have to wait until the movie comes out to learn that one.

Fantasy Island opens February 14.

The enigmatic Mr. Roarke (Michael Pea) makes the secret dreams of his lucky guests come true at a luxurious but remote tropical resort. But when the fantasies turn into nightmares, the guests have to solve the islands mystery in order to escape with their lives.

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Two Staten Island post offices open for passport processing on Presidents Day – SILive.com

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STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- In honor of Presidents Day, two of the boroughs post offices will be open for passport processing on the Feb. 17 holiday.

The New Dorp post office, at 2562 Hylan Blvd., and Staten Islands main post office, at 550 Manor Rd., will be processing applicants for passports.

All United States post offices are closed in observance of the federal holiday, but these two Staten Island branches will be open only for passport events on the holiday, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Applicants are required to bring proof of citizenship, proof of identity, a photo copy of that proof of identity as well as a 2-inch-by-2-inch color headshot photo.

For adults, the application fee is $110, paid by money order or check payable to the U.S Department of State, plus an additional $35 fee, payable to the United States Postal Service.

The fee for children is $60, paid by money order or check payable to the U.S Department of State. They must also pay the $35 fee to the United States Postal Service.

Customers can call 1-800-ASK-USPS, or go to the Postal Services website for more information or contact the U.S Department of States National Passport Information Center toll-free at 1-877-487-2778.

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Synod says yes to Channel Islands transfer THE transfer of parishes in the Channel Islands from – Church Times

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THE transfer of parishes in the Channel Islands from the diocese of Winchester to the diocese of Salisbury is on the verge of completion, after legislation to approve the move was rushed through the General Synod.

Although the Synod was still to vote on final approval after the Church Times went to press on Wednesday evening, the legislation had been introduced, debated, and revised in just a few days, with overwhelming support from members.

After leading a commission to investigate the fraught question, the former Bishop of London Lord Chartres told the Synod on Monday that he had concluded that the relationship between Winchester and the Islands had broken down so irrevocably that they should be moved permanently to the Bishop of Salisburys ambit.

The break with Winchester was extremely painful for all involved, he said. We heard many calls for reconciliation, but we came to the conclusion that a fresh start with another diocese might lend to a fresh relationship.

This would also end the episcopal limbo the Islands had been in for six years, during which time they had had the temporary oversight by the now former Bishop of Dover, the Rt Revd Trevor Willmot.

The fallout with the Bishop of Winchester, the Rt Revd Tim Dakin, was prompted by a bitter row over how a safeguarding complaint dating back to 2008 in Jersey had been handled (News, 15 March 2013).

The Bishop to the Armed Forces, and the Bishop at Lambeth, the Rt Revd Tim Thornton, introduced the legislation by telling the Synod that the move to Salisbury diocese had the support of the Islands, the Archbishops Council, and the diocese itself.

The Bishop of Salisbury, the Rt Revd Nick Holtam, insisted that this was not a question of choosing your own bishop, but of how to rebuild the relationship between the Islands and the wider Church of England.

Some Synod members, however, opposed the proposals, arguing that it was not good enough simply to give in on reconciliation between Winchester and the Islands. But others backed the legislation on the grounds that it was time to move on. The lay chair of the Winchester diocesan synod, Alison Coulter, said: be pragmatic for the sake of mission.

After the legislation was approved on first consideration, it was then unusually brought back the next day for the revision stage, which was swiftly approved by the whole Synod, also. It was then due to be brought back for final approval yesterday.

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Synod says yes to Channel Islands transfer THE transfer of parishes in the Channel Islands from - Church Times

Need a winter hike? Try White Rock Bay to Elephant Head Overlook at Antelope Island – KSL.com

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SYRACUSE Many find that winter is the best time to hike the trails on Antelope Island.

Most of the island's trails have little to no snow throughout the winter, with the exception of Frary Peak Trail, which can have a few feet of snow right after a snowstorm. And one of the best reasons to hike the island in winter is the pesky biting buffalo gnats are not around.

Elephant Head is a rocky outcropping on the west side of Antelope Island. From certain spots on the island (and with a little imagination) this rock outcropping looks like the head of an elephant with two large ears on the sides and a trunk that extends out toward the Great Salt Lake.

The 8.2-mile out-and-back trail from White Rock Bay to Elephant Head Overlook is a great winter hike. This hike starts at the trailhead near the Whiterock Bay campgrounds. It begins heading south with the first part of the trail flat. You come to a large open valley within a few hundred yards. The trail through the valley, called Bone Road Trail, is quite wide, which suggests that it was once used by motor vehicles. You can see most of the 2.7 miles that lay in front of you.

It's a nice walk through the valley, and you can focus on the lone tree toward the end of the valley trail. There is a slight incline as you near the tree. As you look back, you realize that you have actually been going ever so slightly uphill.

The trail splits at the end of the valley, where a trail sign designates White Rock Loop to the left and to the Elephant Head Spur and Split Rock Loop to the right. Follow the trail sign to the right. You will start climbing a little more as you pass the lone tree with a horse hitching post near it. At this point, the trail climbs through some rock formations on a north-facing slope. This area is shaded from the sun and you may encounter some snow in the winter.

As you come around the corner through the rocks, another trail sign indicates the Elephant Head Spur, which takes you in a west direction. You can pause here and look to the southwest, where you will see the 5-mile Split Rock Loop trail leading down through another open valley. Be sure to check out the south-facing slopes, as mule deer often graze these sunlit areas. If you carry a pair of binoculars, you might even spot a few of the big mule deer bucks in the area.

Follow the Elephant Head Spur for 1.4 miles through rocks and boulders. Look closely at the rocks and try to find conglomerate boulders called diamictite. These are large, dark boulders with smaller rocks embedded in them. As you hike Elephant Head Spur, look out to the north; youll be able to see down to Bone Road Trail and marvel at how far you've come.

The trail turns to the south at the farthest western point of Elephant Head Spur. Continue south for a few hundred yards and youll come to the end of the spur. The panoramic views are wonderful from this vantage point. You can look south down on the Split Rock Trail, east toward some of the island's highest peaks, and west over the Great Salt Lake and the Stansbury mountain range. Fremont Island and the Promontory mountain range are to the north.

You can plan your hike so you are at the spur overlook just in time for lunch or some trail snacks before heading back, or you can get out early or in the evening and spend some time listening for the howl and yips of coyotes before turning back.

This trail is open to hikers, trail runners, mountain bikers and equestrians. Be courteous.

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Need a winter hike? Try White Rock Bay to Elephant Head Overlook at Antelope Island - KSL.com

Deal Island Families Weigh In On the County’s Next Renovation Project – WBOC TV 16

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DEAL ISLAND, Md. - Princess Anne Elementary is old, so school leaders in Somerset County are trying to figure out how to update the 40-year-old building. They have two plans on the table right now, but some people on Deal Island say they don't want to see their school close.

There was a community meeting Wednesday night on Deal Island, packed with people who wanted to know what school leaders have in mind.

Somerset County Schools launched a survey in November, explaining two ideas and asking for input. The first ideais to update and expand Princess Anne Elementary. Second grade would then be moved to Princess Anne from Greenwood Elementary, to help address overcrowding at Greenwood.

The second idea entails buildinga new elementary that would be centrally located to serve all of the students at Princess Anne, Greenwood and Deal Island.

Some who attended the meeting on Deal Island say they're skeptical how much money the second option would save.

"I think that they're looking at the money, 100% funding you know from the state but they only save $150,000 in maintenance," Craig Webster of Deal Island says. "But the extra busing is going to cost a lot of that."

Others worry about the distance families would have to travel.

"Well the thing is, they may have to drive 15 or 19 miles to get to the school in Princess Anne and suppose a child gets sick? And they say you know come pick them up?," Bart Vanness of Deal Island says.

Vanness attended the meeting as well and he says class size was also a topic of concern.

"You're going to have a larger population to teach with," Vanness says. "Now here, you may have smaller groups. And this is important."

The district is still looking for community input. They will be holding two more meetings for the public to attend. The second meeting is on Feb. 19 atGreenwood Elementary at 5 p.m. The third and last community meeting will be on Feb. 27th at Princess Anne Elementary at 5 p.m. The project to update Princess Anne Elementary is still in its early stages. More details about the district's timeline and ideas can be found here.

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Deal Island Families Weigh In On the County's Next Renovation Project - WBOC TV 16

Local educators last full day on Parris Island – WNKY EXCLUSIVE – wnky.com

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PARRIS ISLAND, S.C. Local educators had a busy day Thursday in Parris Island.

In the morning, educators watched graduating Marines on the motivational run as the Marines families cheered them on.

Afterward, everyone gathered to watch drill formations and waited for the newest Marines to be released to see their families for the first time since leaving for boot camp.

Warren Central High School Assistant Principal Cody Rich, says it was an honor to watch.

It was an emotional experience, and its a once in a lifetime opportunity that I will always remember and always cherish, said Rich.

Then, the educators were taken to see an obstacle course.

Educators were able to climb a wall, swing across inclined monkey bars and learned a little martial arts.

Marine officials say the obstacle courses are to build confidence in what the recruits are physically able to do.

The experience is not yet over for the educators, but it was their last full day on Parris Island.

Friday is graduation for a group of Marines who will then have 10 days of leave before they begin training for their first assignments.

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Local educators last full day on Parris Island - WNKY EXCLUSIVE - wnky.com

Tribal claim adds new twist to Long Island bridge flap – Boston Herald

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Suffolk Superior Court Judge Robert Ullmann on Thursday said he expects to rule within the next week whether to allow a Native American tribe to intervene in the city of Quincys lawsuit opposing Bostons plan to build a new bridge connecting Moon Island in Quincy to Long Island in Boston Harbor.

Boston wants to replace the structurally unsound bridge it tore down in 2015 and open a drug-recovery campus on Long Island, which used to have 800 beds for homeless people and recovering addicts.

But the Chaubunagungamaug Nipmuck Tribe wants the court to order an environmental impact review because the tribe says the island served as a concentration camp for Native Americans in 1676 and could be the site of artifacts and an Indian burial ground.

If they dont allow this environmental impact statement, then I would be opposed to the bridge, said Ken White, chairman of Chaubunagungamaug Nipmuck Indian Council.

Christopher M. Walker, chief of staff for Quincy Mayor Thomas Koch, said the mayor absolutely supports the tribes right to intervene.

Bostons opposition to that is just one of many examples of Boston trying to steamroll stakeholders through every step of this process, Walker said.

Quincy is suing Boston, partly because of the traffic it says a new bridge would create.

Dorchester Street, the road that leads to Moon Island and then to Long Island, was not built for the kind of traffic that Boston, at least anecdotally, (says) that the services on the island will require, Walker said in an email. BUT, he added in an email, we have always said from Day 1 that our concerns have nothing to do with any proposed use (of Long Island). We just believe they could do everything they want via water transportation and do it a lot quicker and cheaper, too.

Boston officials say the city remains committed to working with tribal organizations to find ways to recognize and memorialize the history of Native Americans on the harbor Islands.

Mayor Martin Walsh has met with representatives from the Muhheconneuk Intertribal Committee on Deer Island and the North American Indian Center of Boston to discuss their requests, city officials said.

Boston also is going through permitting with the Massachusetts Historical Commission to conduct an archaeological survey of the area of proposed work associated with the reconstruction of the bridge, city officials said.

And Boston voluntarily prepared an unanticipated-discoveries plan that would become part of the contract for the construction work, requiring contractors to stop work and alert relevant parties if archaeologically significant artifacts or human remains are found during construction, said Sammy Nabulsi, who is representing the city in the lawsuit.

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Tribal claim adds new twist to Long Island bridge flap - Boston Herald

Meet Pancakes, the newborn sloth at the Staten Island Zoo – SILive.com

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STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- The Staten Island Zoo recently welcomed a new member to its growing family of sloths -- Pancakes.

The tiny Hoffmans two-toed sloth was born Jan. 13 to mom CC and dad Sid at the Zoo.

Pancakes, who currently weighs a whopping 1 pound, is the third baby born to CC and Sid. She is joined by big sister, Waffles, and older brother, Dunkin.

Pancakes is being kept in the Zoos hospital area, where she is nursing until she is old enough to join the other sloths in the Tropical Forest wing in the aquarium building. During the warm weather months, the sloths will be on display outside.

Fun fact: The two-toed sloth, which is native to South America, is so slow that algae grows on its fur. Its toes give it the dexterity to hang from trees, hence the name.

Sloths, which are known to sleep 15 to 20 hours a day, typically spend their time in trees and only come down once a week to use the bathroom.

The Staten Island Zoo is located at 614 Broadway. For more information, visit statenislandzoo.org/.

Watch the video below to see Pancakes in action.

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Meet Pancakes, the newborn sloth at the Staten Island Zoo - SILive.com

Rock Island police looking for suspect vehicle in hit-and-run crash – KWQC-TV6

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ROCK ISLAND, Ill. (KWQC) - Rock Island police have identified the driver that they say took out a light pole in a hit-and-run over the weekend.

Police say at 3:00 a.m. on Saturday, officers responded to the base of the Stanley Talbot Memorial Bridge for a hit-and-run crash. The crash damaged a light pole and camera equipment worth nearly $20,000.

Early Wednesday morning, police announced they had identified the driver and the driver had turned himself into the police.

Police had described the suspect vehicle as a "reddish colored SUV, possibly a 2000's style Jeep Cherokee." It has over-sized tires and a roof rack that appears to contain a spare tire.

Police say after striking the light pole, the driver then sped across the bridge and was last seen heading into Davenport.

Based on footage captured by cameras in Davenport, it appears the suspect vehicle suffered damage to the front hood, and possibly the windshield and roof.

Police shared this photo on Facebook, saying while it does not appear the suspect vehicle has a front bumper winch like the vehicle shown below, the suspect vehicle should look similar.

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Rock Island police looking for suspect vehicle in hit-and-run crash - KWQC-TV6

White Island volcano survivor out of coma and told of deaths of husband and daughter – The Guardian

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An Australian woman has come out of her coma, two months after the volcano eruption on New Zealands White Island, to be told the blast killed her husband and daughter.

Adelaide woman Lisa Dallow has woken from her coma in Melbournes Alfred hospital and is in a serious but stable condition.

She was told the tragic news about her husband, Gavin Dallow, and 15-year-old daughter Zoe Hosking, News Corp reported on Tuesday.

The family was on a day trip to White Island while cruising on the liner Ovation of the Seas when the volcano erupted on 9 December, killing 21.

Dallow, a lawyer, was farewelled at Adelaide Oval on 10 January in a service in front of about 600 mourners.

Zoes service is yet to be held.

Lisa Dallow, an engineer with Santos, was flown to Australia after the eruption with burns to more than half her body.

Of the 47 people reportedly on the island at the time, 19 died instantly or later succumbed to their injuries.

Two people, Hayden Marshall-Inman of New Zealand and Winona Langford of Australia, were initially listed as missing before being presumed dead on 23 January.

Most of the victims were Australian tourists. A Melbourne man, Paul Browitt, died in January at the Alfred. His daughter Krystal also died.

His other daughter, Stephanie, remains in the Alfred.

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White Island volcano survivor out of coma and told of deaths of husband and daughter - The Guardian

Brothers Arrested on Drug, Firearm Charges – Big Island Now

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Edward Asuncion

Two brothers were taken into custody after a search warrant executed on a Hawaiian Ocean View Estates home they were staying at yielded drugs, firearms and ammunition.

The warrant was issued on Feb. 12. Edward Asuncion, 64, and Cecelio Asuncion, 72, were arrested after Hawaii Police Departments Area II vice officers recovered 11.1 grams of crystal methamphetamine, 176.9 grams of dried marijuana, 56 marijuana plants, a .30-06 rifle, a .22 caliber rifle, a .357 caliber revolver, and 19 rounds of ammunition.

Edward Asuncion was charged with first-degree promotion of a dangerous drug and second-degree promotion of a dangerous drug. Bail was set at $15,000.

Cecelio Asuncion was charged with first-degree commercial promotion of marijuana, second-degree commercial promotion of marijuana, third-degree promotion of a detrimental drug, six counts of firearm ownership/possession prohibited and possession of a firearm with intent to facilitate the commission of a felony. Bail was set at $55,250.

The Asuncion brothers were in custody when they appeared before a judge in Kona District Court on Feb. 13 for their initial appearance.

Cecelio Asuncion

Edward Asuncion was granted supervised release and was ordered to return to court on March 2 for a preliminary hearing. Cecelio Asuncions bail was maintained and is slated to appear in court for a preliminary hearing on Feb. 14.

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Brothers Arrested on Drug, Firearm Charges - Big Island Now

New Pleasure Island Chamber of Commerce events planned for 2020 – Port City Daily

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CAROLINA BEACH Every summer thousands of tourists and locals alike head to Carolina Beach to enjoy movies in the park, weekly fireworks, and other events hosted by the Pleasure Island Chamber of Commerce. This year the chamber is even hosting a new event, Bark in the Park. But hosting so many events can get expensive, especially when they are provided for free. In fact, this year the chamber has more than $400,000 in budgeted expenses.

Fortunately for the chamber, the Town of Carolina Beach will spend more than $100,000 to help put on the events but locals can breathe a sigh of relief since its actually tourists and visitors that will be footing the bill.

In North Carolina, the county collects what is known as room occupancy tax. This is a tax that applies to hotels or any other type of short-term rental and in New Hanover County, the tax rate is 6%.

But unlike property tax or sales tax, ROT funding cant simply be spent on day-to-day expenses, instead, there are strict requirements.

The first 3% collected will be distributed at 60% for beach nourishment and the remaining 40% is to be used by the Tourism Development Authority (TDA) to promote travel and tourism throughout New Hanover County and shall not be used to plan, construct, operate, maintain or in any way promote a civic center, convention center, public auditorium or like facility, according to New Hanover Countys Tax Department.

The additional 3% collected in each individual beach community is dedicated to establishing two funds each to be used exclusively for that beach; at least one-half of the tax collected is to be used to promote travel and tourism and the other fund is for TDA approved tourism-related expenditures that are designed to increase the use of lodging facilities, meeting facilities or convention facilities or to attract tourists or business travelers to the area and includes tourism-related capital expenditures as approved by the TDA Board of Directors, according to the department.

On Tuesday night, the Town Council gave its tentative approval to President of the Pleasure Island Chamber of Commerce Greg Reynolds for the funding request. In turn, Reynolds offered the council and residents a look at what the chamber has planned for the upcoming season.

This year we have a very ambitious program as usual, Reynolds said.

Two new events are planned for the upcoming season: Bark in the Park and the Taste of Pleasure Island. Bark in the Park is a pet-friendly event revolving around animals, Reynolds said.

Every year visitors and residents ask for an event they can bring their pets to since all of the other events are not pet-friendly, he said, so this event will do just that. There used to be a similar event in Carolina Beach, Salty Paws, which has since ceased operation. Reynolds said he is going to try and work with local hotels to get them to be pet-friendly for the week of the event. The event is planned for early November.

The Taste of Pleasure Island will take the place of the annual Beach, Bacon, and Beer Festival. Although it was a heavily attended event, Reynolds cited some difficulties with vendors backing out at the last minute as the reason for the replacement. Right now the Taste of event is planned for Oct. 10, 2020

The Pleasure Island Seafood Blues and Jazz Festival will be returning once again and this year Reynolds has a special headliner for the event, although, he cant say who it is just yet.

He did drop a hint saying the artist recently won his fourth Grammy award.

Fireworks will continue each Thursday at the Carolina Beach Boardwalk as well as the annual 4th of July fireworks show which will actually take place on July 3 (so people can attend other events around the region Reynolds said).

A full list of the upcoming events can be found below:

Send comments and tips toMichael.p@localvoicemedia.comand follow him onTwitterandInstagram

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New Pleasure Island Chamber of Commerce events planned for 2020 - Port City Daily

Dave Pasternack Brings Italian Restaurant and Steakhouse to Troubled Staten Island Waterfront Development – Eater NY

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Menu details are out for restaurateur and chef duo Victor Rallo and Dave Pasternacks two new restaurants set to replace the upscale seafood restaurant Barca and barbecue spot Surf, which closed on Sunday.

Barca, at 44 Navy Pier Court, will transform into a traditional Italian restaurant called Pastavino similar to Rallos Italian trattoria in Red Bank, New Jersey and barbecue restaurant Surf, at 37 Navy Pier Court, will become a bi-level sports bar and steakhouse called Navy Pier Prime & Taproom, a representative for the restaurateurs tells Eater. Pastavino is set to open sometime during the week of February 17, and the sports bar will open in March.

Its the latest push to make Staten Islands massive waterfront residential development Urby, which opened in 2016, NYCs next big dining destination. But things havent looked good so far: Eleven different businesses including restaurants and coffee shops have come and gone from the development since its opening, according to SI Live. Among the closures are an outpost of the Long Island City coffee chain Coffeed, and a hip, pricey deli called Bodega.

With their latest effort, Rallo and Pasternack seem to be pivoting to something tried and tested.

At 120-seat Pastavino, the usual suspects dominate the menu including a burrata salad, fried calamari, and arancini for appetizers; a selection of meats and cheeses; and a large variety of pastas including chitarra cacio e pepe and spaghetti pomodoro. Seafood dishes that caught New Yorker critic Hannah Goldfields notice at Barca wont live on, though dishes like a whole roasted branzino, and a mafaldine pasta dish with shrimp and calamari will be available.

The sports bar and steakhouse are pretty typical for their genre too: The taproom has wings, burger, and a raw bar, while the steakhouse will serve dry-aged beef thats cooked on wood-fired grills. The sports bar, which will also ping pong and shuffleboard, will take up the ground floor and a patio at 37 Navy Pier Court, and seat 60 inside and 120 people outside. The steakhouse will be on the floor above that and have room for 100 people. It will also have a large wine list with selections from Oregon, California, Italy, and France.

Josh Laurano, who was the executive chef at Barca, will remain in that position at the two new restaurants. He was previously the executive chef at Mario Batalis Chelsea restaurant La Sirena before it closed following allegations of sexual misconduct against Batali.

Rallo declined to provide specifics for why Barca and Surf closed, only writing in an Instagram post that theyre trying to appeal to even more people.

Whether these new restaurants can draw more people to Staten Islands north shore remains to be seen though it certainly has a shot with Rallo and Pasternack at the helm, who also own Midtown Italian seafood destination Esca. Pasternack, whos a major player in NYCs seafood scene, has been the chef at Esca since 2004.

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44 Navy Pier Ct, Staten Island, NY 10304

37 Navy Pier Ct, Staten Island, NY 10304

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Dave Pasternack Brings Italian Restaurant and Steakhouse to Troubled Staten Island Waterfront Development - Eater NY

These Alternative Treatments May Be The Answer To The Pain Of Aging – HuffPost

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Illustration by Sara Andreasson for HuffPost

This story is part of Pain in America, a nine-part series looking at some of the underlying causes of the opioid addiction crisis and how we treat pain.

With age comes pain. Whether caused by injury, arthritis, cancer or any number of conditions, persistent pain affects up to four out of every five people age 65 and older.

While many turn to opioids and other medications, their risks, including the potential for abuse and overdose, are well known. Less well known (at least among the general public) are the added issues older adults can face when taking these drugs.

The older you are, the more likely you are to develop an adverse side effect from a pain medication, said Cary Reid, associate professor of medicine in the division of geriatric and palliative medicine at Weill Cornell Medicine and director at Cornells Translational Research Institute on Pain in Later Life (TRIPLL).

Those side effects, such as confusion and a heightened risk of falls, can be severe and can make doctors hesitant to prescribe pain medications to older adults. These drugs can also take longer to metabolize with age, meaning they can be more potent or stay in an elderly persons system longer than expected. And because many older adults take other medications too, theres also the risk of problematic drug interactions.

With the number of American seniors expected to almost double by 2060 to nearly a quarter of the population this all adds up to a growing need to find alternative treatments.

Thats where researchers like those at TRIPLL come in. One of 13 Roybal Centers that the U.S. governments National Institute on Aging has funded to improve the lives of older Americans, TRIPLL focuses on nondrug approaches to managing and preventing chronic pain.

Its casting a wide net, looking into alternatives that range from acupuncture and meditation to physical therapy, cognitive behavioral therapy and even mobile technologies.

Reporting Pain With Digital Health Technology

In one TRIPLL-funded project, Elizabeth Murnane, a postdoctoral scholar in the computer science department at Stanford University, and a team of researchers developed smartphone-based technology that adults 55 and older can use to self-report the intensity of chronic pain. The idea is to capture information about pain as it happens without burdening the patient, while serving as an alternative to pen-and-paper and verbal self-reporting measures commonly used in clinical settings or at-home methods that often suffer from low adherence or misreporting.

The test used nine different measures to capture the patients experience of pain, including a circle that fills with color when the interface is touched, and a widget for reporting pain with a numerical range of 0 to 10 that can be adjusted by tapping the screen. Early testing revealed some usability issues for older adults with low digital skills or motor, cognitive and visual impairments, so the researchers changed the design to be more touch and pressure-oriented, in part motivated by how wed sometimes observe our participants instinctually grasping the hand of a loved one or a chair or other object nearby in moments of pain, Murnane explained.

Now Murnane and her collaborators are working on a pain assessment tool that examines rhythms of pain intensity.

Many factors can influence the experience of pain age, gender, genes and how much sleep a person needs (and how much they actually get), Murnane said. Healthy functioning and synchronization of the circadian system is known to deteriorate with age, contributing to a vicious cycle of sleep disruption and exacerbated pain in older adults.

The researchers hope the data can be used to advance the basic understanding of pain and how it manifests in everyday life behaviorally, psychologically and physiologically as well as to design new tools for pain monitoring and management. For example, they hope to discover digital biomarkers of pain, which are bits of data collected with digital devices and wearables like smartwatches that can be used to explain or predict the presence of illness or disease. In Murnanes case, these markers could be someones degree of forward flexion or how far theyve walked on an inclined path, which researchers expect would correlate with pain severity, she said.

Emotion Regulation Therapy

Negative emotions are also associated with chronic pain typically, the more depression, anger, negativity and irritability that a patient feels, the more pain they report experiencing, Reid explained.

Weill Cornell Medicine psychologist Dimitris Kiosses and a multidisciplinary team of researchers have been working on a psychosocial treatment called problem adaptation therapy that aims to provide elderly patients suffering from chronic pain with techniques like deep breathing, relaxation and changing their perspective on a situation to decrease the impact of negative emotions and increase the impact of positive ones.

The goal there is to have people recognize the kinds of emotions they experience and to develop strategies to minimize negative emotions, because research has demonstrated a strong link between negative emotions and increased pain and pain-related disability, Reid said.

Barbara Chase, an 81-year-old New York City resident, learned valuable techniques for managing chronic back and nerve pain she experiences from Parkinsons disease by participating in this program. Shes never liked taking medicine, she said, and is amazed by how helpful some nondrug alternatives like listening to music and relaxing her body and mind can be in managing pain. Chase now likes to go to the gym, turn off the lights, and listen to music through her phone while stretching and doing other movement exercises, which she says takes her to another place.

It makes me relax and I just forget, Chase said. I dont think about it.

Relaxing by lying on the floor, closing her eyes, and spreading out like a bird has a similar effect, she said, adding that she can often feel her pain coming on ahead of time, and now knows to use these emotion-regulation techniques to get rid of it.

Its amazing, she said. And its free.

Behavioral Treatment For Older Adults With HIV

Older adults with HIV are a growing population with high rates of chronic pain and substance use, and decreased physical function. To address these issues, researchers supported by TRIPLL developed an eight-week behavioral pilot study in 2016 that incorporated weekly tai chi and cognitive behavioral therapy sessions and used text messaging to facilitate behavior change.

Results from a small randomized control trial were positive participants who took part in the CBT, tai chi and texting program experienced more pain relief, reduced substance use and improved physical performance compared to a control group who received standard care. Now the researchers are trying to obtain funding from the National Institutes of Health to support a similar but much larger trial.

Looking To The Future

Because many clinicians were trained to manage pain primarily with medication, educating them about nondrug approaches to pain management can be difficult, Reid said.

Another challenge is getting insurers to cover nonpharmacological pain management techniques, and without insurance coverage, many treatments become inaccessible for patients who cant afford the out-of-pocket costs.

Even finding places that offer those alternatives can be tough. Its often difficult in New York City, and if its difficult in New York City, imagine what it must be like if youre living in a very rural state, Reid said. Weve got to enhance the availability and dissemination of these kinds of tools.

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These Alternative Treatments May Be The Answer To The Pain Of Aging - HuffPost