Medical school dropout sentenced for sending tutors threatening letters

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Colin Joyce threatened to release confidential information about 1,300 patients and have their details posted on Wikipedia. Photograph: Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images

A Cork medical school dropout who sent threatening letters to 10 of his past supervisors and tutors at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI) has been given a three-year suspended sentence.

Colin Joyce (34) was angry that the college had refused him readmission to allow him to complete his medical degree after he had attempted, over the course of four years, to complete his fourth year.

He ultimately chose to leave in 2007 due to mental health difficulties.

In 2012, Joyce started to contact a number of doctors, professors and staff by letter and threatened the recipients he would release confidential information regarding 1,300 patients and have their details posted on the Wikipedia website.

Joyce included personal information about the doctors in each letter. He told one he was sorry to hear her sister had died recently of ovarian cancer and he had information about another mans wife and children, which the man found alarming.

He wrote that he felt there was a conspiracy against him and said he was working with others abroad so even if he were to be locked up the information would still be released.

Joyce at times demanded amounts of cash while other letters insisted on his readmittance into the college and regularly threatened to release this confidential information.

He said he knew heavy individuals around Dublin and had a friendship with the Taliban and that he would get local paramilitaries to put together a bomb.

He claimed he had the power to bring about the closure of the RCSI.

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Medical school dropout sentenced for sending tutors threatening letters

Liberty Ships, Artificial Reefs – Texas Parks and Wildlife [Official] – Video

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Liberty Ships, Artificial Reefs - Texas Parks and Wildlife [Official]
Liberty Ships, Artificial Reefs The Liberty Ships of World War II served our country during a time of need. Today, they #39;re serving as artificial reefs off th...

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Presentable Liberty – Part 1 | The Start of Something Trippy… – Video

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Presentable Liberty - Part 1 | The Start of Something Trippy...
The beginning of one of the most trippy gameplays I #39;ve ever done. Ladies and Gentleman, for your entertainment, I bring you: PRESENTABLE LIBERTY!!! 😀 Subscribe to the channel! - https://www.yout.

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Nature’s Liberty Best Coconut Oil for Perfect Skin! – 100% Natural – Video

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Nature #39;s Liberty Best Coconut Oil for Perfect Skin! - 100% Natural
Nature #39;s Liberty Best Coconut Oil for Perfect Skin! - 100% Natural http://www.naturesliberty.com/product/coconut-oil/ Coconut Oil helps you nourish your skin, improving your overall skin health...

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Ellie Goulding – Love Me Like You Do Cover By 12 Year Old Liberty Grant – Video

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Ellie Goulding - Love Me Like You Do Cover By 12 Year Old Liberty Grant
Here I am covering the great Ellie Goulding #39;s Love Me Like You Do, Ellie is an amazing artist and someone I really look up to. I hope everyone has had a great valentines day and you enjoy my...

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Why conservative Alaska legalized marijuana. Who's next? (+video)

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On Tuesday, Alaska became the first red state to legalize the smoking, growing, and owning of small amounts of marijuana, bringing the decriminalization movement to a conservative stronghold.

The frontier state narrowly approved the measure last fall, by 53 percent, joining Colorado and Washington states in legalizing recreational use.

Under the law,adults 21 and older may possess up to anounce of potandgrow as many as six plants. But smoking in public and buying and selling the drug remains illegal, which makes it difficult to (legally) acquire.

"You can still give people marijuana, but you can't buy it or even barter for it," Alaska Public Media's Alexandra Gutierrez reports. "So, it's a pretty legally awkward spot. That probably won't stop people from acquiring it, though."

Alaska is the third state to legalize recreational marijuana after Colorado and Washington. Oregon and Washington, DC, are expected to follow later this year. But Alaska is unique in that it is the first solidly red state to legalize the drug.

Why did a conservative state take a decidedly liberal position on marijuana?

Although it is a Republican stronghold, Alaskans are known for their rugged individualism and libertarianism.

"This is a conservative state, but it's a state with a heavy libertarian streak," Bickford said. "People here generally want to be left alone and really don't think the government is the solution to their problems," Taylor Bickford, a spokesperson for the Campaign to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol in Alaska, told Vox News.

And it turns out Alaska has always been on the forefront of pot legalization. It was one of the first states to decriminalize marijuana in 1975, and voters in 1998 legalized the drug for medicinal purposes, according to the site.

This time, an unlikely coalition of libertarians, individualists and small-government minded Republicans helped legalize recreational marijuana last fall.

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Why conservative Alaska legalized marijuana. Who's next? (+video)

Walking on Hydra island, wyspa Hydra – Greece 2014 – one of the best greek islands – Video

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Walking on Hydra island, wyspa Hydra - Greece 2014 - one of the best greek islands
Hydra (Greek: , pronounced [ira] in modern Greek) is one of the Saronic Islands of Greece, located in the Aegean Sea between the Saronic Gulf and the Argolic Gulf. It is separated...

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Minecraft: Castaway Islands #3 – HIDDEN CHESTS! (CastawayMC 2.0) – Video

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Brockville bridge corp. nod hailed

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The appointment of a Brockville director to the Federal Bridge Corporation will bring a much-needed local voice to the running of the Thousand Islands Bridge, Senator Bob Runciman believes.

Diana Dodge, the executive director of the Bridlewood Manor long-term care facility in Brockville and former executive director of the Brockville and District Chamber of Commerce, is among the appointees to the new bridge corporation board announced earlier this month. Dodge will serve a three-year term.

Its good to see it moving in the right direction, said Runciman, the senator for Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes.

While the senator hopes Dodges appointment will bring a local voice to the separately run Thousand Islands Bridge Authority, an official at the federal corporation stressed Monday the two entities are separate.

The Federal Bridge Corporation amalgamated with its subsidiary, the St. Marys River Bridge Company, and the Blue Water Bridge Authority to form a single Crown corporation under the Federal Bridge Corporation name on February 1. It also owns the Thousand Islands Bridge.

The Thousand Islands Bridge Authority manages that bridge under an agreement with the federal corporation.

Since 2013, Runciman has been calling on the federal corporation to nominate a local resident to the Thousand Islands Bridge Authority.

The latter, an American-operated authority, has four U.S. directors and three from Canada, and none of the Canadians are from the surrounding area.

On the American side, the four members are appointees from Jefferson County and carry a mandate to promote tourism from their county government, notes Runciman.

Since the federal corporation generally appoints its own directors to the Thousand Islands authority, Runciman is hopeful Dodge may soon sit on the local international panel as well.

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Brockville bridge corp. nod hailed

Edsas message of freedom, change celebrated on Kalayaan Islands

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Western Command, Palawan and Pag-asa local officials celebrate the Edsa revolution anniversary on Pag-asa Island, a farflung community in the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea).

PAG-ASA ISLAND, PhilippinesIn the disputed Kalayaan Group of Islands (Spratlys), the Edsa revolutions anniversary was celebrated in the face of territorial rows within neighboring countries in the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea).

We have the opportunity to celebrate (the Edsa revolution anniversary) here because (the place) goes well with (the revolutions) messagechange and freedom, Western Command (Wescom) chief Vice Adm. Alexander Lopez said on Wednesday.

Wescom officials and members of the provincial government of Palawan trooped to Pag-asa Island via Philippine Air Force C-130 to celebrate the 29th year of Edsa People Power Revolution.

Aside from the celebration, there was a flag-raising ceremony, a gift-giving event for soldiers and residents which was supposed to be held last Christmas, a Mass and a cultural presentation.

Children were treated to food from a popular local fast-food chain and the presence of its mascot.

Two things: This is symbolic and the other thing is belated. We should have done this during Christmas, cheer-giving not for anything else, but to cheer the children and their families, Lopez said.

Our message here is this is a municipality of Palawan, this is ours. We are here to show the country and even to the world that this part of the globe is ours. We have a moral obligation to develop it and look after the constituents. Thats why our Vice Governor is here, the symbolism of the province is here and that [Pag-asa] is not forgotten, he added.

Pag-asa is a fifth-class municipality that is part of the Kalayaan Island Group and has a population of about 200. It is the largest of the islands and islets that is occupied by the Philippines in the hotly-contested West Philippine Sea.

Here in Pag-asa there is hope and there is freedom. There is freedom in vigilance to the threatening security in the region because of the developments on claimants reefs, Lopez said.

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Edsas message of freedom, change celebrated on Kalayaan Islands

LifeMap Sciences Partners with Toldot Genetics to Support Next Generation Sequencing Variant Analysis Commercialization

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ALAMEDA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--LifeMap Sciences, Inc. (LifeMap), a subsidiary of BioTime, Inc., announced today a commercial partnership agreement with Toldot Genetics, LTD (Toldot), a subsidiary of BATM Advanced Communications, Ltd. LifeMaps GeneCards Suite, comprised of the companys integrated biomedical knowledgebase and premium analysis tools, will optimize Toldots next generation sequencing (NGS) data analysis capabilities by powering its algorithm-based tools for assigning genetic variations derived from whole genome and exome sequencing, to clinical conditions in order to improve biomedical research. LifeMap will also promote Toldots products and offer them to its large user base of life scientists in academia, research hospitals, and biopharma.

LifeMap Sciences extensive integrated biomedical knowledgebase will further expand Toldots analysis systems in order to contribute to the ability to get the most of unprecedented quantities of gene-related data derived from NGS experiments, said Yaron Guan-Golan, Chief Marketing Officer of LifeMap Sciences. Our partnership with Toldot Genetics reflects the flexibility of our technology to enhance biomedical research and discovery.

We believe that combining LifeMaps comprehensive biomedical knowledgebase and advanced analysis tools with Toldots proven ability to extract the most relevant information out of large amounts of sequencing data will create the best NGS analysis package available on the market today, said Dvir Dahary, CEO of Toldot Genetics. This partnership will assist in the discovery of novel clinical and scientific insights.

LifeMaps cloud-based technology offers unlimited access to users who wish to use its integrated biomedical knowledgebase and premium tools VarElect and GeneAnalytics for NGS data analysis. The company is also offering partners who are developing and commercializing NGS analysis platforms access to its integrated knowledgebase and tools under various business arrangements.

Both VarElect and GeneAnalytics are part of LifeMap Sciences recently launched GeneCards Suite Premium Tools. The tools leverage the LifeMap integrated biomedical knowledgebase, which includesGeneCards, the leading human gene database, MalaCards, the human disease database, andLifeMap Discovery, the cells and tissues database. LifeMap holds the exclusive worldwide license to marketGeneCards,MalaCards, VarElect, GeneAnalytics and GenAlaCart from Yeda Research and Development Company Ltd., the commercial arm of the Weizmann Institute of Science.

About LifeMap Sciences, Inc.

LifeMap Sciences (www.lifemapsc.com) is a life sciences technology company that offers integrated, streamlined solutions that empower life scientists worldwide to conduct cutting edge basic, clinical, and applied biomedical research.LifeMaps products are used in more than 3,000 institutions including academia, research hospitals, patent offices, and leading biopharma. The companys primary product offering, the GeneCards Suite, is comprised of an integrated biomedical knowledgebase and premium tools that enable researchers to effectively navigate the universe of human genes, proteins, cells, biological pathways, diseases, and the relationships between them. The knowledgebase includes three key databases that integrate information from over 100 sources: GeneCards, the leading human gene database, MalaCards, the human disease database, and LifeMap Discovery, the cells and tissues database. The GeneCards Suite premium tools are a set of biomedical data analysis applications that leverage the GeneCards Suite knowledgebase for gene variant prioritization and RNAseq and microarray gene set analysis to deliver enhanced results, including from the unprecedented quantities of data derived from Next Generation Sequencing (NGS). The premium tools include VarElect, the NGS phenotyper,GeneAnalytics, a novel gene set analysis tool, and GeneALaCart, the GeneCards batch querying application. LifeMap Sciences intends to extend its offerings to the field of mobile health via its subsidiary,LifeMap Solutions, Inc. Operations worldwide are carried out from their offices in California, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Tel Aviv and Hong Kong. LifeMap is a subsidiary of BioTime, Inc.

About Toldot Genetics Ltd.

Toldot Genetics (www.toldot-dna.com) improves healthcare through the use of whole genome sequencing, developing and applying sophisticated algorithm-based tools and approaches to assign genetic variations to clinical conditions. Toldot provides geneticists and physicians with a complete analysis package of Exome sequencing data for identifying the causal mutations of rare genetic disorders. Pharma and BioTech companies use Toldot's services in their clinical pipelines, from the design and all the way to deep analysis of their sequencing data, exclusively tailored for the requirements of each project, incorporating gold-standard tools with in-house algorithms and software.

About BATM Ltd.

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LifeMap Sciences Partners with Toldot Genetics to Support Next Generation Sequencing Variant Analysis Commercialization

Wonkblog: Major insurers are finally revealing one of health-cares greatest mysteries

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The obscure, seemingly random universe of health-care pricing is getting a little less opaquetoday. Some of the country's largest health insurers are coming together to reveal the prices they pay for dozens of medical services across the country in an effort to help consumers become savvier shoppers.

All the information can be found at Guroo.com, a site launched Wednesday morning that was built by a health-care nonprofit group with information from United Healthcare, Humana, Aetna and Assurant Health. The transparency effort is a nod to the growing trend of patients being asked to pay more out of their own pockets, as insurers try to manage their costs and steer customers toward preferred health-care providers.

"The rise in health-care spending underscores the need to make it more transparent and help consumers make more informed decisions regarding their care," said David Newman, executive director of the Health Care Cost Institute, which built the Web site.

Guroo's initial rollout will let patients compare costs for more than 70 common services, which includes things as simple as a doctor's visit, or something more complex like a knee surgery. These are prices for health-care services that patients may shop for ahead of time, as opposed to the cost of emergency room care.

Anyone can use the site without charge to get a better idea of the baseline prices for health-care services in their area, based on the actual prices that these insurers pay to providers. Guroo's data won't tell the whole story for patient costs, though. The site doesn't break down what a consumer pays for services versus what the insurer pays. It's better to think of the price platform as more of a guide, Newman said.

As previous data have shown, prices for the same medical service vary widely across the country, even within the same city. In Dallas, for example, a knee surgery will run anywhere between $16,772 and $61,585 depending on the hospital.And in health care, there's little relationship between price and quality of services.

Patients already have price transparency tools to choose from, with most health insurers offering their own platform for their customers. The difference with Guroo is that there's more data across different insurers compiled in one place.

"It's data that no one else has," Newman said.

The site lets patients search by condition. So, if you're going in for total knee replacement surgery, for example, you type that into Guroo's homepage. Once you've clicked through a couple of options to narrow down your search, the site shows you the services you could expect: an office visit with a specialist, the surgery itself, physical therapy and follow-up office visits. You can either view the average price for your area, or a range of prices. The search results look like this:

(Guroo screenshot)

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Wonkblog: Major insurers are finally revealing one of health-cares greatest mysteries