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Friday, February 8, 2013

New technology may help doctors monitor concussions, aging, and neurological function

Public release date: 7-Feb-2013
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Contact: Kristen Kusek
kristen.kusek@wyss.harvard.edu
617-432-8266
Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard

Harvard's Wyss Institute develops a computer tablet application that could rapidly assess neuromuscular performance at the bedside

Boston, MA, Feb. 7, 2013 Doctors routinely track their patients' hand-eye coordination to monitor any neuromuscular deficits, particularly as patients age or when they are injured -- but the tests they have been using to track this kind of information may be subjective and qualitative.

Researchers at the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University, the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, and Hebrew SeniorLife, Boston (BIDMC), recently completed the first clinical study of a new rapid neuroassessment device they developed to quantitatively measure neuromuscular performance, as reported online in yesterday's Journal of Gerontology: Series A: Biological Sciences and Medical Sciences.

In the study, 150 healthy people from the Boston area aged 21 to 95 used a stylus to follow a moving target around a circle on a computer tablet. As every person performed this tracing task, proprietary computer methods developed at the Wyss Institute measured people's deviations from the circular path, which the researchers then analyzed as a function of age, sex, and handedness. Using this approach, a number can be obtained that can show differences in performance between various individuals or conditions. An older person performs quite differently on the tracing exercise, for example.

"This new tool may hold great potential to augment existing protocols in a doctor's neuromotor assessment toolbox," said Wyss Senior Staff Engineer Leia Stirling, Ph.D., who led the study. "It is portable, repeatable, quick to administer, and easy to perform."

Whereas current methods to assess a patient's neuromuscular function include subjective descriptions of a patient's reflexes and cognitive status, the tracing tool could add a slew of new information displayed as a "score". For example, doctors can record a "score" for "complexity," which relates to how well a person can adapt to changes, and "motion fluidity," which relates to how long the patient pauses during the task. Older subjects involved in the study had lower complexity and motion fluidity scores.

Wyss Core Faculty member Ary L. Goldberger, M.D., who is also the Director of the Margret & H. A. Rey Institute for Nonlinear Dynamics in Medicine at BIDMC, introduced the idea of studying complexity in the human body. "We have demonstrated in earlier studies that a loss of complexity is potentially associated with a range of human health issues from congestive heart failure and sleep apnea to aging," he said.

The team envisions a day when the technology which they informally called "NeuroAssess" -- might be used on the playing field and in doctor's offices worldwide. "One day it might sit next to the thermometer and pressure cuff in the doctor's office," Stirling said. "Just as your blood pressure is recorded during every visit, so could your neuromuscular score be tracked over time to determine progress through recovery and rehabilitation." The same technology could be used to assess off-target neurological side effects in human clinical trials.

Now that the baseline data have been collected from the healthy population of study subjects, the next goal is to determine NeuroAssess' potential to become a quantitative assessment tool for groups of people with neuromuscular pathologies, such as those who suffered concussions or have multiple sclerosis.

The team is currently conducting a study with athletes in the Boston area to determine the sensitivity of the technology in diagnosing concussions.

"The interdisciplinary team who masterminded this new technology represent the best of the Wyss Institute model, which makes it possible for scientists, engineers and clinicians who don't traditionally work together to sit down, dream up game-changing technologies, and more easily and quickly translate them into products for high value applications," said Wyss Founding Director Don Ingber, M.D., Ph.D.

###

http://wyss.harvard.edu/viewpage/415/

The work was funded by the Wyss Institute, the National Institutes of Health, the G. Harold and Leila Y. Mathers Charitable Foundation, and the James S. McDonnell Foundation. In addition to Stirling and Goldberger, the team included Lewis A. Lipsitz, M.D., Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School, Chief of Gerontology at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, and Director of the Institute for Aging Research at Hebrew SeniorLife; Mona Qureshi, Wyss Clinical Research Manager; Damian G. Kelty-Stephen, Ph.D., Wyss Staff Research Scientist; and Madalena D. Costa, Ph.D., Wyss affiliate, Instructor in Medicine at Harvard Medical School and Associate Director of the Margret and H. A. Rey Institute for Nonlinear Dynamics in Medicine at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center.

About the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University

The Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University uses Natures design principles to develop bioinspired materials and devices that will transform medicine and create a more sustainable world. Working as an alliance among Harvards Schools of Medicine, Engineering, and Arts & Sciences, and in partnership with Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Brigham and Womens Hospital, Boston Childrens Hospital, Dana Farber Cancer Institute, Massachusetts General Hospital, the University of Massachusetts Medical School, Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital, Boston University and Tufts University, the Institute crosses disciplinary and institutional barriers to engage in high-risk research that leads to transformative technological breakthroughs. By emulating Natures principles for self-organizing and self-regulating, Wyss researchers are developing innovative new engineering solutions for healthcare, energy, architecture, robotics, and manufacturing. These technologies are translated into commercial products and therapies through collaborations with clinical investigators, corporate alliances, and new start-ups. The Wyss Institute recently won the prestigious World Technology Network award for innovation in biotechnology.

About Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center

BIDMC is a patient care, teaching and research affiliate of Harvard Medical School and currently ranks third in National Institutes of Health funding among independent hospitals nationwide. BIDMC is clinically affiliated with the Joslin Diabetes Center and is a research partner of the Dana-Farber/Harvard Cancer Center. BIDMC is the official hospital of the Boston Red Sox. For more information, visit www.bidmc.org

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AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

New technology may help doctors monitor concussions, aging, and neurological function

Public release date: 7-Feb-2013
[ | E-mail |

Share ]

Contact: Kristen Kusek
kristen.kusek@wyss.harvard.edu
617-432-8266
Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard

Harvard's Wyss Institute develops a computer tablet application that could rapidly assess neuromuscular performance at the bedside

The team is currently conducting a study with athletes in the Boston area to determine the sensitivity of the technology in diagnosing concussions.

###

http://wyss.harvard.edu/viewpage/415/

About the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University

About Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center

[ | E-mail |

Share ]

AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-02/wifb-ntm020613.php

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MGM asks for quick decision on flawed Vegas hotel

The Associated Press ? ? ? 9 hrs.

LAS VEGAS -- MGM Resorts International is asking the Nevada Supreme Court to speed up a decision that's holding up the demolition of a flawed hotel tower on the Las Vegas Strip.

MGM filed a brief Wednesday asking the court to expedite its ruling on whether the company must do more structural testing. MGM said the building poses a safety risk and must be demolished as soon as possible.

The Harmon Hotel is a joint project with Dubai World and was intended to open with 46 stories in 2009 as part of the $8.5 billion CityCenter development. Construction was halted at 26 floors after inspectors found flaws in steel reinforcements.

A trial is set for 2014 to decide whether MGM or contractor Perini Building Co. is responsible for $500 million in damage claims.

Source: http://www.nbcnews.com/travel/itineraries/mgm-asks-quick-decision-flawed-vegas-hotel-1B8290980

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Wednesday, February 6, 2013

Europe's costly double parliament: a movable beast

STRASBOURG, France (AP) ? The morning high-speed train from Brussels pulled into the lonely train station of the provincial French city of Strasbourg. As the doors opened, the chaotic scramble for cabs, cars and buses heralded an extraordinary phenomenon of international politics: the European Union's "traveling circus" was back in town.

Hundreds of EU parliamentarians and their staff were completing their monthly 435-kilometer (270-mile) legislative migration, one that takes them from their own parliament in Brussels to, well, their own parliament in Strasbourg ? for just four days.

The cost to the EU taxpayer: an estimated ?180 million ($245 million) a year.

All at a time when the EU, which opens a contentious budget summit on Thursday, is desperately trying to find ways to cut spending to overcome its financial crisis.

The EU set up two parliaments, one at headquarters in Brussels, the other in Strasbourg, as part of a complex diplomatic dance in which France and Germany, the chief architects of the European project, were eager to find an emblem for their postwar reconciliation. Critics say that such lofty symbolism is an absurd luxury at a time when austerity measures are threatening pensioners, slashing health budgets and causing unemployment to balloon.

For legislators it's simply a monumental hassle.

"I cannot stand the traveling back and forth anymore," said Germany's European Parliament vice-president, Alexander Alvaro.

EU leaders are hoping to use their two-day summit to trim more out of a ?1 trillion ($1.35 trillion) seven-year budget. Scrapping the expensive commute, many critics say, could come in very handy. British Prime Minister David Cameron, leader of a famously euroskeptic nation, is poised to lead the campaign to snuff out EU waste.

The head of Cameron's Conservative party at the EU Parliament was clear on where he would look for savings: "We cannot stand here in Strasbourg at our second seat ? this icon of EU profligacy ? and say that there is no money that can be saved," Martin Callanan told his fellow legislators Wednesday.

The scenes at the Brussels end point to what makes the dual legislature something of a movable beast.

On the eve of the great migration, big boxes are lined up all along the offices of the 754 legislators, ready for the reams of paperwork, background notes, extra bottles of water, even winter boots, that are to be loaded onto trucks on Friday evening to be driven in convoys to Strasbourg and unloaded at offices the lawmakers' use for the four-day session.

"It can happen that you would be sitting there and say, 'wow,' I miss this crucial document because we didn't think about putting it in the box," Alvaro said.

And spare a thought for the lobbyists, most of whom do not enjoy EU parliamentarians' elite perks, such as high-speed travel and generous wining and dining budgets.

Shut out of the parliamentary Thalys train service, environmental lobbyist Saskia Richartz was forced to take the slow one into Strasbourg, a 5-hour, 15-minute commute without even coffee service on board.

A half-hour after arriving, she was still standing in a long line waiting for a cab, dragging a huge mock cod in one hand and a mackerel in the other, for a Greenpeace demonstration later in the week. "It would be so much better to have it all in Brussels," said Richartz, one of the 6,000 to 8,000 people to make the commute.

From her office at city hall across a rainy and wind-swept town, Catherine Trautmann could not disagree more.

A former Strasbourg mayor and current EU parliamentarian, the Frenchwoman has a unique, if slanted, perspective: "The calling of a European parliamentarian is to move around," she said. "That we travel is only logical."

Trautmann did acknowledge the severe limitations of Strasbourg's regional airport with its few direct flights to any European capitals. And she promised new connections to places like London and Rome within the coming months.

Strasbourg may not be a transport hub, but ? a stylish city with one of Europe's best Gothic cathedrals ? it more than makes up for that in historic significance, Trautmann argues.

Often fiercely fought over by Germany and France in century of fighting, Strasbourg has both Gallic and Teutonic influences, from its street signs to its gastronomic specialties. Tucked on the French side of the Rhine river, it became an emblem of the warm ties France and Germany had nurtured since World War II. For France, the Strasbourg parliament also evolved into a symbol of its status as a European heavyweight, and a boon for the local economy.

In the 21st century, and the worst financial crisis since the start of the EU over half a century ago, many Europeans say changes have to be made.

"The outside world looks on with amazement that all of these years after the Second World War we are still perpetuating this anachronistic homage to the Franco-German reconciliation," said British MEP Edward McMillan-Scott.

In France, it's a different story.

On Tuesday, French President Francois Hollande, after conveniently flying in from Paris, celebrated Strasbourg's role.

"I defend Strasbourg, the capital of Europe, because it is history that teaches us the role Strasbourg has to play," Hollande told EU legislators. "Strasbourg is both the history and the future of Europe."

The parliamentary sessions have become a tremendous boost for the city. When two sessions had to be canceled in 2008 because the roof of the plenary had partly collapsed, the cost to the city of 275,000 people was ?7.5 million ($10.2 million).

France also said that all EU nations, including Britain, formally agreed on the dual parliament in 1992. And since any change requires unanimity, France remains in full control of Strasbourg's destiny.

Parliamentarians may hope the EU summit will raise the issue on Thursday in the frantic search for budget cuts, although Hollande has dashed any expectation of change.

Some see offering Strasbourg other EU institutions to host may be a solution.

"Of course we understand that the French have a veto," said McMillan-Scott. "But I am absolutely convinced that if France were offered some credible and dignified alternative to the European parliament, then Strasbourg would accept that."

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/europes-costly-double-parliament-movable-beast-131621983--finance.html

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Tsunami Debris On Alaska's Shores Like 'Standing In Landfill'

Trash, much of it believed to be debris from the 2011 Japanese tsunami, litters the beach on Montague Island, Alaska, on Jan. 26.

Annie Feidt for NPR

Trash, much of it believed to be debris from the 2011 Japanese tsunami, litters the beach on Montague Island, Alaska, on Jan. 26.

Annie Feidt for NPR

Refrigerators, foam buoys and even ketchup bottles are piling up on Alaska's beaches. Almost two years after the devastating Japanese tsunami, its debris and rubbish are fouling the coastlines of many states ? especially in Alaska.

At the state's Montague Island beach, the nearly 80 miles of rugged wilderness looks pristine from a helicopter a few thousand feet up. But when you descend, globs of foam come into view.

Chris Pallister, president of the nonprofit Gulf of Alaska Keeper, has been cleaning up debris that washes onto Alaska's shores for the past 11 years. Marine debris isn't a new issue for the state, but he says his job got a whole lot harder when the tsunami wreckage began arriving last spring.

"You're basically standing in landfill out here," he says, shaking his head in disgust.

He points to an area scattered with foam bits smaller than packing peanuts.

"This is what we're worried about. This Styrofoam is just going to get all ground up, and you can see there would just be billions and trillions of little bits of Styrofoam scattered all over everything," Pallister says.

Environmental Concerns

The trash isn't just an eyesore. Pallister says birds, rodents and even bears are eating the pieces of foam. Chemicals are also a worry. Among the debris, Pallister finds containers that held kerosene, gas and other petroleum products.

Chris Pallister examines a bottle of what he believes could be a household chemical item on Montague Island.

Annie Feidt for NPR

Chris Pallister examines a bottle of what he believes could be a household chemical item on Montague Island.

Annie Feidt for NPR

Sifting through the mess, he picks up a small blue bottle and unscrews the cap.

"I have no idea what this was. It looks like dish soap maybe," Pallister says. "But there's thousands of bottles like this up and down the coast, from small household chemical items to big industrial-size drums."

Last summer, the state paid for an aerial survey to inspect 2,500 miles of Alaska's coastline. Elaine Busse Floyd, who's with the state's Department of Environmental Conservation, says there was tsunami debris on every beach photographed.

"They took over 8,000 pictures, and it was more widespread and in greater quantities than we even expected," Floyd says.

But, officially, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration recorded just five tsunami debris items in Alaska. The agency will only confirm an object if it has a unique identifier that can be traced back to Japan.

Limited Financial Support

Environmental activists and people like Pallister still maintain that the trash isn't being taken seriously enough.

So far, there has been little money for cleanup. Alaska's congressional delegation is working to get federal funds, but tsunami debris cleanup money was recently stripped from a bill for Hurricane Sandy relief.

Pallister admits that the tsunami debris doesn't have the visceral impact of the Exxon Valdez spill. There are no oiled otters or blackened coastlines. But the debris, he says, could be a big environmental disaster in the long run.

"In a lot of ways, it's a lot worse than the oil spill," Pallister says, "both in the geographic scope of it and the chemicals that are coming with it. And who knows what the impacts are going to be?"

If funding does comes through soon, Pallister hopes to be back on the beach this summer, slinging loads of debris and rubbish onto a barge and off the wild coastline.

Source: http://www.npr.org/2013/02/06/170858057/refrigerators-bottles-foams-tsunami-debris-lands-in-alaska?ft=1&f=1007

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US giant takes share in capital's Groenz - Stuff

American food processor Golden State Foods has taken majority ownership of Wellington-based condiment-maker Groenz Group.

Groenz makes sauces and mustards used in the "quick service restaurant" industry, including manufacturing the French Maid and Kiwi Style brands of condiments.

Groenz managing director Fred Groen said the company had grown to a point where a substantial trade partner was needed to expand further.

"We found that partner with GSF."

The partnership would give Groenz enhanced resources, market reach and product offerings to fully reach its potential, he said.

Golden State is one of the largest diversified food processors and distributors in the US and is a global US$5 billion (NZ$6b) company, the company website said.

It has about 4300 employees worldwide and its core businesses process liquids, meat, produce and bakery goods from 34 facilities. It is famous for supplying McDonald's restaurants since the 1950s and created the sauce for the Big Mac burger.

Golden State's New Zealand and Australia managing director John Wafer would not say how much the 51 per cent stake in Groenz has cost the food processor but said the companies were "very complementary" businesses.

While Golden State is a large food processor with big factories, Groenz was able to process smaller amounts of products more quickly, he said.

By filling this demand for Golden State's clients, Groenz would be able to expand its business, Wafer said. Its products should also reach a wider market in time through the deal.

Despite the sale it would be business as usual for Groenz under its existing management, he said.

Groenz' factory in Seaview houses manufacturing, warehousing, new product development and a test kitchen, along with office space. As well as manufacturing sauces and food products, the factory makes the packaging for its products.

Groenz employs more than 55 people on site in Seaview and has a 12-strong sales team throughout New Zealand and Australia.

The company's website says it was founded by Dutch immigrant Maarten Groen after he arrived in New Zealand in 1957 to work as a chef and discovered a lack of knowledge of European cuisine.

His first product "off the line" was mayonnaise and the company now makes more than 165 condiments.

Wafer said staff at the Seaview plant had been told of the sale and were enthusiastic.

- ? Fairfax NZ News

Source: http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/industries/8267136/US-giant-takes-share-in-capitals-Groenz

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Select the Best Business Web Hosting Provider To Multiply Your ...

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Yes, your dreams can be materialized with an effective e-commerce website. How to make e-commerce website that fulfills your dreams? Just think 'begin with the end in the mind'.

The first and foremost thing you need to start with is make a clear picture of the e-commerce website based on how you want it to be. Having the clarity of how your website should look like and what services you can provide that can be really useful to your customers, ask for the requirements from your IT expert team or directly to the web hosting company.

TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS
Collect the list and enlist the technical requirements of the e-commerce website you want to have one for your business. This is not quite easy. Jargons with lots of technicalities need to be understood and small differences of the features should be clearly understood and evaluated.

Make sure your list contains specific technical requirements of how much bandwidth, how much storage space you are looking for along with uptime, software applications and tools required building your e-commerce website. Especially e-commerce website should have special features which demand advanced software applications and tools. It should include special tools like SEO to increase the web traffic with online marketing.

Apart from the above requirements, one important factor is the security. This is generally awakened once hacking or malware intrusion happens resulting in breaching of data that would eventually make a huge loss for customer as well the company. So, be aware of the cyber threats before hand and take good measures to encrypt the confidential data provided online by the customers. Authentication of the website, domain validation, encryption are the important considerations that can be met with SSL certificates.

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Having known over all requirements of web hosting, be informed of probable budget to allocate for web hosting of your website. The amount fixed for web hosting may or may not meet the requirements of the website to be well hosted. So, allocate minimum and maximum budget that you can spend for your website serving all the purposes of e-commerce requirements.

CUSTOMER CARE AND TECHNICAL SUPPORT
All the issues after the sales should be well handled by the customer care. Technically the web hosting company should provide the best support with instant fix of the issue along with the deployment of the features you are looking for. Different issues demand different levels of response from the hosting and so technical support must have three modes of communication to contact the company. The three modes to contact the company are telephone, chat and email.

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Another Big Enterprise Deal As New Relic Raises $80M And Eyes IPO To Extend App Monitoring Service

Another big enterprise deal to report as New Relic, an app performance monitoring service, has raised $80 million analyzing and is looking at an IPO.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/kI6JvASmx5Q/

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