Madhusudan Padi Hirakud Displaced Kurumkel and other villages – Video

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Madhusudan Padi Hirakud Displaced Kurumkel and other villages
commissioner cum Secretary Govt. of Odisha was questioned on 4 villages that were displaced during the massive developmental project "HIRAKUD DAM" are still living in the pre-independence era....

By: Amitabh Patra

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Madhusudan Padi Hirakud Displaced Kurumkel and other villages - Video

Business banker sees growth in manufacturing and health care through investment, acquisitions

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Among the traditional holiday gifts we receive in the business news inbox are predictions for the coming year.

Michael Mrnak's vision is looking up. Mrnak is vice president and senior client manager with the Business Banking group at Bank of America Merrill Lynch for the upper Midwest, based in Minneapolis.

Within the concentrations of manufacturing, health care and distribution, Mrnak sees a continuation of the growth and recovery cycle we've seen over the past few years.

Of course, there are usual challenges that business will continue to face, including finding skilled staffing and the continuous upgrading of technology. But financing for this will come amid a favorable interest rate environment, albeit that's predicted to change gradually in 2015.

"We're very optimistic and bullish on 2015 when it comes to manufacturing, business distribution and health care, sectors that we tend to focus in on," Mrnak said. "We've had stabilized and increased cash flow over the last 36 months, and we see a lot of expansion in these areas."

In a recent interview, Mrnak provided more details. His answers have been edited for context and clarity.

When you say you're seeing business growth in these sectors, can you be more specific?

In the manufacturing sector, we're seeing a lot of increases both in the real estate capacity with refurbishing their existing facilities, and expanding with ground-up construction; with expansion comes a lot of capital expenditure spending, equipment financing, and certainly with that, automation.

"And we see a cycle every three to five years with cap-ex spending, with equipment financing; to stay ahead of the game in automation, you need to upgrade that equipment."

What about in health care?

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Business banker sees growth in manufacturing and health care through investment, acquisitions

Reducing emergency surgery cuts health care costs

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New research indicates that reducing emergency surgery for three common procedures by 10 percent could cut $1 billion in health care costs over 10 years

As hospitals and health systems increasingly focus on addressing the rising cost of health care in the United States, and with the expense of surgical care playing a major role, physician researchers and others across the healthcare industry are working to identify innovative ways to reduce surgical costs.

In new findings published online in the journal Annals of Surgery on December 19, 2014, researchers determined the hospital costs and risk of death for emergency surgery and compared it to the same operation when performed in a planned, elective manner for three common surgical procedures: abdominal aortic aneurysm repair, coronary artery bypass graft and colon resection.

"If 10 percent of these emergency surgeries had been performed electively, the cost difference would have been nearly $1 billion over 10 years," said Adil Haider, MD, MPH, director of the Center for Surgery and Public Health at Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH) and lead author of the paper. "Importantly, elective procedures are better for patients, too, who experience lower rates of mortality and better outcomes. There is a tremendous opportunity to both save lives and decrease costs."

Haider, who conducted this research while at the Center for Surgical Trials and Outcomes Research at Johns Hopkins, with colleagues from Howard University, analyzed data from a nationally representative sample of 621,925 patients from 2001 to 2010 who underwent abdominal aortic aneurysm repair, coronary artery bypass graft and colon resection. The hospital's cost to care for these patients was calculated with standardized information on inpatient cost and charge as reported by hospitals to the Center for Medicare and Medicaid.

When compared to elective surgery, emergency surgery was 30 percent more expensive for abdominal aortic aneurysm repair, 17 percent more expensive for coronary artery bypass graft and 53 percent more expensive for colon resection. Researchers also found that patients who underwent elective surgery had significantly lower rates of mortality compared to those who had emergency surgical procedures.

"The costs of surgical care represent nearly 30 percent of total healthcare expenditures and they are projected to total more than $900 billion by 2025, said Haider. "As we, collectively in the healthcare industry, work to systematically address the rising cost of healthcare, reducing emergency surgeries for common procedures provides a significant opportunity that must be seriously and thoughtfully considered. Strategically aligning primary care, screening programs and other interventions could be an impactful way to both improve outcomes and reduce costs."

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This research was funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIGMS K23GM093112-01), and the American College of Surgeons C. James Carrico Fellowship for the study of Trauma and Critical Care.

Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH) is a 793-bed nonprofit teaching affiliate of Harvard Medical School and a founding member of Partners HealthCare. BWH has more than 3.5 million annual patient visits, is the largest birthing center in Massachusetts and employs nearly 15,000 people. The Brigham's medical preeminence dates back to 1832, and today that rich history in clinical care is coupled with its national leadership in patient care, quality improvement and patient safety initiatives, and its dedication to research, innovation, community engagement and educating and training the next generation of health care professionals. Through investigation and discovery conducted at its Brigham Research Institute (BRI), BWH is an international leader in basic, clinical and translational research on human diseases, more than 1,000 physician-investigators and renowned biomedical scientists and faculty supported by nearly $650 million in funding. For the last 25 years, BWH ranked second in research funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) among independent hospitals. BWH continually pushes the boundaries of medicine, including building on its legacy in transplantation by performing a partial face transplant in 2009 and the nation's first full face transplant in 2011. BWH is also home to major landmark epidemiologic population studies, including the Nurses' and Physicians' Health Studies and the Women's Health Initiative. For more information, resources and to follow us on social media, please visit BWH's online newsroom.

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Deadline looms for health-care choices

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By Gintautas Dumcius

State House News Service

BOSTON -- The state's revamped health-care website has seen 1.5 million unique visits in the last four weeks, a number that is expected to grow given the looming Tuesday deadline for people to pick a health-care plan and pay for it, state officials said.

The deadline applies to Massachusetts residents who need health insurance starting on Jan. 1.

The site has enrolled 114,321 people, including 98,530 into Medicaid, or MassHealth, since the re-launch.

The health-care website system has had "no outages" contributing to a "night and day" experience for consumers compared to last year's poor performance, according to Maydad Cohen, who was tapped by Gov. Deval Patrick to overhaul the website.

Cohen said the information-technology costs for the rebuild of the website are still within the $254 million budget for the project, paid for largely through grants from the federal government.

Cohen released data showing that 53,490 people found eligible for qualified health plans selected or paid for a plan. So far, 18,187 people have paid premiums for plans that begin on Jan. 1.

The Health Connector is open today from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. to assist consumers using the website. Cohen said they expect heavy call volume and wait times on Monday and Tuesday, ahead of the Tuesday deadline to pick and pay for a plan effective Jan. 1.

Health-care officials have put out mailers and robo-calls to reach out to potentially eligible residents.

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Deadline looms for health-care choices

FDA approves new ovarian cancer drug

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Opening a new chapter in the use of genomic science to fight cancer, the Food & Drug Administration on Friday approved olaparib, a medication for advanced ovarian cancer associated with a defective BRCA gene.

The new drug, to be marketed under the commercial name Lynparza, was found in a preliminary clinical trial to shrink or eliminate ovarian tumors in women whose cancers bore a specific genetic fingerprint and who had undergone at least three prior lines of chemotherapy.

Based on Lynparza's "existing objective response rate and duration of response data," the drug safety agency granted the medication's maker, Astra-Zeneca, an "accelerated" approval. Roughly a third of women with the genetic mutation targeted by Lynparza saw partial shrinkage or complete disappearance of their ovarian tumors over an average of eight months.

At the same time, the FDA granted marketing approval for a "companion diagnostic" that will help identify women whose advanced ovarian cancer is likely to respond to the drug. That test, BRACAnalysis CDx, is made by Myriad Genetics Inc. To be a candidate for Lynparza, a patient must take the test and show positive for a specific mutation of the BRCA gene, which confers a high risk of both breast and ovarian cancer.

"Today's approval constitutes the first of a new class of drugs for treating ovarian cancer," Dr. Richard Pazdur, director of the Office of Hematology and Oncology Products in the FDA's Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, said in the news release.

Pazdur called Lynparza "an example of how a greater understanding of the underlying mechanisms of disease can lead to targeted, more personalized treatment."

Lynparza is the first of a new class of drugs called poly ADP-ribose polymerase (PARP) inhibitors, which work by blocking the action of an enzyme that helps repair DNA. In certain tumor cells, such as those seen in BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutation carriers, blocking this enzyme can lead to cell death.

"Its really opening a whole new avenue of therapy," said Dr. M. William Audeh, a medical oncologist and geneticist at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center's Samuel Oschin Cancer Institute in Los Angeles. "This drug is working in a fundamentally different way than chemotherapy: This is a cancer treatment thats been designed to hit this kind of inherited genetic weakness in the cancer itself."

Because PARP inhibitors such as Lynparza target a cancer's genetic Achilles' heel, they appear to hold out the particular promise of driving some patients' cancer into remission entirely, said Audeh, an investigator on the Astra-Zeneca-sponsored trial assessed by the FDA.

"All of us whove done these trials over seven years have some patients whove been in long-term remission. Thats not something you see very often with chemotherapy," he added.

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FDA approves new ovarian cancer drug

Crohn's, Colitis May Have Genetic Underpinnings, Study Finds

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FRIDAY, Dec. 19, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- The intestinal bacteria that cause inflammatory bowel disease, which includes Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis, may be inherited, researchers report.

The findings, published recently in the journal Genome Medicine, could help in efforts to prevent the disease and treat the 1.6 million Americans with Crohn's or colitis, the study authors added.

"The intestinal bacteria, or 'gut microbiome,' you develop at a very young age can have a big impact on your health for the rest of your life," lead author Dan Knights, an assistant professor in the department of computer science and engineering and the Biotechnology Institute at the University of Minnesota, said in a journal news release.

"We have found groups of genes that may play a role in shaping the development of imbalanced gut microbes," he explained.

The study of 474 adults with inflammatory bowel disease who live in the United States, Canada and the Netherlands found a link between the participants' DNA and their gut bacteria DNA. The Crohn's and colitis patients also had less variety of gut bacteria and more opportunistic bacteria than the general population.

The findings are an important step in creating new drugs for the treatment of Crohn's and colitis, the researchers said.

The investigators also found that antibiotics can worsen the imbalances in intestinal bacteria associated with inflammatory bowel disease.

"In many cases, we're still learning how these bacteria influence our risk of disease, but understanding the human genetics component is a necessary step in unraveling the mystery," Knights said.

Previous research has identified associations between gut bacteria and increased risks for health problems such as diabetes, autism, heart disease and some types of cancer, the researchers said.

-- Robert Preidt

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Crohn's, Colitis May Have Genetic Underpinnings, Study Finds

A*STAR scientists discover gene critical for proper brain development

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This gene accounts for the size of the human brain and potentially our superior cognitive abilities

Scientists at A*STAR's Institute of Medical Biology (IMB) and Institute of Molecular and Cellular Biology (IMCB) have identified a genetic pathway that accounts for the extraordinary size of the human brain. The team led by Dr Bruno Reversade from A*STAR in Singapore, together with collaborators from Harvard Medical School, have identified a gene, KATNB1, as an essential component in a genetic pathway responsible for central nervous system development in humans and other animals.

By sequencing the genome of individuals of normal height but with a very small head size, the international team revealed that these individuals had mutations in the KATNB1 gene, indicating that this gene is important for proper human brain development. Microcephaly (literally meaning "small head" in Latin) is a condition often associated with neurodevelopmental disorders. Measured at birth by calculating the baby's head circumference, a diagnosis of microcephaly is given if it is smaller than average.

Microcephaly may stem from a variety of conditions that cause abnormal growth of the brain during gestation or degenerative processes after birth, all resulting in a small head circumference. In general, individuals with microcephaly have a reduced life expectancy due to reduced brain function which is often associated with mental retardation.

The team also carried out further experiments to determine the function of KATNB1, whose exact mode of action was previously unknown in humans. Using organisms specifically designed to lack this gene, they realised that KATNB1 is crucial for the brain to reach its correct size. Zebrafish and mice embryos without this gene could not live past a certain stage and showed dramatic reduction in brain and head size, similar to the human patients. Their results were published in the 17 December 2014 online issue of Neuron, the most influential journal in the field of Neuroscience.

Sequencing and screening for this particular gene before birth or at birth might also help to detect future neurocognitive problems in the general population. Dr Reversade said, "We will continue to search for other genes important for brain development as they may unlock some of the secrets explaining how we, humans, have evolved such cognitive abilities."

Prof Birgit Lane, Executive Director of IMB, said, "This is one of a small number of genes that scientists have found to be vital for brain development. The work is therefore an important advance in understanding the human brain. The team's findings provide a new platform from which to look further into whether - and how - this gene can be used for targeted therapeutic applications."

Prof Hong Wanjin, Executive Director of IMCB, said, "This coordinated effort shows the increasingly collaborative nature of science. As the complexity and interdisciplinary nature of research evolves, so do the networks of collaborations between research institutes at A*STAR and across continents."

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A*STAR scientists discover gene critical for proper brain development

Ancient Alien Genetic Engineering – An Explanation for Evolution ? (DOCUMENTARY) – Video

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Ancient Alien Genetic Engineering - An Explanation for Evolution ? (DOCUMENTARY)
This documentary looks at the history of civilization on this planet, how and when agriculture and precision-engineered architecture were developed and by whom. Is Ancient Alien Genetic Engineerin...

By: NRG Daily

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Ancient Alien Genetic Engineering - An Explanation for Evolution ? (DOCUMENTARY) - Video

How To Sell A Nanotechnology Revolution

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Pixelligent scientists prepare nanocrystals for use in LED applications. (Credit: Pixelligent)

Last week, Baltimore-based nanotech firm Pixelligent Technologies closed a funding round of $5.5 million to continue its development and growth. This marks a total of $23 million in equity funding the firm has raised to date, plus another $10 million its received in the form of government grants to develop its technology.

Pretty impressive, considering that the company was on its deathbed a few years ago.

Pixelligent was founded in the year 2000 by Gregory Cooper shortly after he received his Ph.D. in Physics. Cooper, who is currently the CTO of the company, was soon joined by two colleagues: Serpil Gonen Williams, a chemist, and Gene Chen, an electrical engineer, both of whom are still with the company.

The original vision of the company was to use its expertise in nanomaterials to develop composites for use in optical lithography, a process used for the manufacture of computer chips. However, the semiconductor business is a tough one, as the company discovered. Despite awards during its incubator phase, its attempts to raise enough money to develop its technology for the market failed.

The combination of this and a failed commercial partnership sent the company into Chapter 11 bankruptcy in March of 2007. One year later, in March of 2008, the Court appointed Craig Bandes as the companys Chief Restructuring Officer. At the time, Bandes was President and CEO of Global Secure Corp. Prior to that, he had cofounded Focus Technology Consulting. Despite these successes, he didnt have an easy task ahead of him in rescuing the struggling startup.

I helped them work through process of reorganization, settling litigation with partner that didnt work out, and getting control of its IP, Bandes told me. As a consultant, I gave the company about a 10-20% chance of survival.

The company emerged from bankruptcy in April of 2009 with a plan for growth that involved moving away from the semiconductor market and a new President and CEO Craig Bandes. Bandes credits the successful emergence from bankruptcy to the companys strong foundation.

The only thing that didnt need to be turned around was the technology, he said.

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How To Sell A Nanotechnology Revolution