vietcong robert: January 2012

Thursday, January 26, 2012

Scientists create first free-standing 3-D cloak

ScienceDaily (Jan. 25, 2012) ? Researchers in the US have, for the first time, cloaked a three-dimensional object standing in free space, bringing the much-talked-about invisibility cloak one step closer to reality.

Whilst previous studies have either been theoretical in nature or limited to the cloaking of two-dimensional objects, this study shows how ordinary objects can be cloaked in their natural environment in all directions and from all of an observer's positions.

Published Jan. 26 in the Institute of Physics and German Physical Society's New Journal of Physics, the researchers used a method known as "plasmonic cloaking" to hide an 18-centimetre cylindrical tube from microwaves.

Some of the most recent breakthroughs in the field of invisibility cloaking have focussed on using transformation-based metamaterials -- inhomogeneous, human-made materials that have the ability to bend light around objects -- however, this new approach uses a different type of artificial material -- plasmonic metamaterials.

When light strikes an object, it rebounds off its surface towards another direction, just like throwing a tennis ball against a wall. The reason we see objects is because light rays bounce off materials towards our eyes and our eyes are able to process the information.

Due to their unique properties, plasmonic metamaterials have the opposite scattering effect to everyday materials.

"When the scattered fields from the cloak and the object interfere, they cancel each other out and the overall effect is transparency and invisibility at all angles of observation.

"One of the advantages of the plasmonic cloaking technique is its robustness and moderately broad bandwidth of operation, superior to conventional cloaks based on transformation metamaterials. This made our experiment more robust to possible imperfections, which is particularly important when cloaking a 3D object in free-space," said study co-author Professor Andrea Alu.

In this instance, the cylindrical tube was cloaked with a shell of plasmonic metamaterial to make it appear invisible. The system was tested by directing microwaves towards the cloaked cylinder and mapping the resulting scattering both around the object and in the far-field. The cloak showed optimal functionality when the microwaves were at a frequency of 3.1 gigahertz and over a moderately broad bandwidth.

The researchers, from the University of Texas at Austin, have shown in previous studies that the shape of the object is irrelevant; oddly shaped and asymmetric objects can both be cloaked using this technique.

Moving forward, one of the key challenges for the researchers will be to demonstrate the cloaking of a 3D object using visible light.

"In principle, this technique could be used to cloak light; in fact, some plasmonic materials are naturally available at optical frequencies. However, the size of the objects that can be efficiently cloaked with this method scales with the wavelength of operation, so when applied to optical frequencies we may be able to efficiently stop the scattering of micrometre-sized objects.

"Still, cloaking small objects may be exciting for a variety of applications. For instance, we are currently investigating the application of these concepts to cloak a microscope tip at optical frequencies. This may greatly benefit biomedical and optical near-field measurements," continued Professor Alu.

Recommend this story on Facebook, Twitter,
and Google +1:

Other bookmarking and sharing tools:

Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Institute of Physics.

Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.

Journal Reference:

D Rainwater, A Kerkhoff, K Melin, J C Soric, G Moreno, A Al. Experimental verification of three-dimensional plasmonic cloaking in free-space. New Journal of Physics, 2012; 14 (1): 013054 DOI: 10.1088/1367-2630/14/1/013054

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/~3/1wOJuVCgzEI/120125195535.htm

patriots jets patriots jets the music man the music man steve smith weather san antonio weather san antonio

Wednesday, January 25, 2012

In GOP response, Daniels blames Obama for economy

WASHINGTON (AP) ? President Barack Obama has resorted to "extremism" with stifling, anti-growth policies and has tried dividing Americans, not uniting them, Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels said Tuesday in the formal Republican response to the president's State of the Union address.

Eight months after deciding not pursue a bid for his party's presidential nomination, Daniels used his nationally televised speech to lash out at Obama and cast the GOP as compassionate and eager to unchain the country's economic potential.

He took particular aim at Obama's efforts in recent months to raise taxes on the rich and castigate them for not contributing their fair share to the nation's burdens. He and other Republicans were hoping to both blunt and shift the focus away from Obama's theme of fairness, which includes protecting the middle class and making sure the rich pay an equitable share of taxes.

"No feature of the Obama presidency has been sadder than its constant effort to divide us, to curry favor with some Americans by castigating others," Daniels said, according to excerpts of his remarks released before he and Obama spoke. "As in previous moments of national danger, we Americans are all in the same boat."

Daniels is a rarity in the GOP these days ? a uniting and widely respected figure, contrasting with the divisiveness emanating from the contest for the presidential nomination being waged among former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and others.

Daniels, President George W. Bush's first budget chief and a two-term Indiana governor, portrays himself as an ardent foe of budget deficits, though critics note he served during the abrupt shift from fleeting federal surpluses to massive deficits early in Bush's term.

Obama's address, and Daniels' speech, come at the dawn of a presidential and congressional election year in which the defining issues are the faltering economy and weak job market and the parties' clashing prescriptions for restoring both. Obama and congressional Democrats have focused on the more populist pathway of financing federal initiatives by taxing millionaires, while Republicans preach the virtues of less regulation and smaller government.

Obama was ready to describe his vision of attaining "an economy built to last." Led by Daniels, Republicans were firing back that it was their party that understood the best way to trigger economic growth was to get the government out of the way.

"The extremism that stifles the development of homegrown energy, or cancels a perfectly sane pipeline that would employ tens of thousands, or jacks up consumer utility bills for no improvement in either human health or world temperature, is a pro-poverty policy," Daniels said.

Obama has halted, for now, work on the proposed Keystone XL oil pipeline from western Canada to Texas' Gulf Coast. Republicans say the project would create thousands of jobs, a claim opponents say is overstated. The administration has also pursued policies aimed at reducing pollution and global warming.

Daniels said Republicans prefer "a passionate pro-growth approach that breaks all ties and calls all close ones in favor of private sector jobs that restore opportunity for all and generate the public revenues to pay our bills."

In a riff on Obama's own theme, Daniels said, "As Republicans our first concern is for those waiting tonight to begin or resume climb up life's ladder. We do not accept that ours will ever be a nation of haves and have nots. We must always be a nation of haves and soon-to-haves."

Even before Obama spoke, Republicans in the Capitol and on the campaign trail accused him of three years of higher spending, bigger government and tax increases that have left the economy stuck in a ditch.

"This election is going to be a referendum on the president's economic policies," which have worsened the economy, said House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio. "The politics of envy, the politics of dividing our country is not what America is all about."

To underscore Obama's decision on Keystone, Boehner invited three officials from companies he said would be hurt by the pipeline's rejection to watch the speech in the House chamber, along with a pro-pipeline legislator from Nebraska, through which the project would pass.

?????"If the president wants someone to blame for this economy, he should start with himself," said Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky. "The fact is, any CEO in America with a record like this after three years on the job would be graciously shown the door."

?????Obama was delivering his address during a rowdy battle for the GOP presidential nomination that has ended up providing ammunition for Obama's theme of fairness.

?????That fight has called attention to the wealth of one of the top contenders, Romney, and the low ? but legal ? effective federal income tax rate of around 15 percent that the multimillionaire has paid in the past two years. Romney, in Florida campaigning for that state's Jan. 31 primary, released his tax documents for the two-year period on Tuesday.

?????"The president's agenda sounds less like 'built to last' and more like doomed to fail," Romney said in Tampa, Fla.?"What he's proposing is more of the same: more taxes, more spending, and more regulation."

?????Romney's chief rival so far, Gingrich, said in a written statement that the top question about Obama's speech was whether he "will show a willingness to put aside the extremist ideology of the far left and call for a new set of policies that could lead to dramatic private sector job creation and economic growth."

?????The Republican National Committee was airing a television commercial in three states and Washington, D.C., that shows Obama discussing the faltering economy in 2009, saying, "If I don't have this done in three years, then this is going to be a one-term proposition," a reference to his presidency.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/89ae8247abe8493fae24405546e9a1aa/Article_2012-01-24-State%20of%20Union-GOP%20Reaction/id-16ac7921eea14bf1b5a54a6e64944923

hell on wheels new york city marathon andy williams andy williams nyc marathon nyc marathon coriolis effect

Retired manager La Russa to manage NL All-Stars

Former St. Louis Cardinals manager Tony La Russa signs autographs for fans during the baseball team's annual Winter Warm-Up on Sunday, Jan. 15, 2012, in St. Louis. La Russa is getting a victory lap with St. Louis fans following his retirement after the Cardinals' World Series win at the end of the 2011 season. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

Former St. Louis Cardinals manager Tony La Russa signs autographs for fans during the baseball team's annual Winter Warmup, Sunday, Jan. 15, 2012, in St. Louis. After La Russa retired following the Cardinals' World Series win at the end of the 2011 season, he's now getting a victory lap with St. Louis fans. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

ST. LOUIS (AP) ? Tony La Russa will become the second retired manager to lead an All-Star team next summer, joining Hall of Famer John McGraw.

La Russa concluded a 16-season run in St. Louis with the team's second World Series title in five years last October, stepping down after 33 seasons overall. Commissioner Bud Selig announced Tuesday that the 67-year-old La Russa will manage the National League in this year's game July 10 in Kansas City.

"Tony earned this opportunity with the remarkable run the Cardinals completed last October, and I am delighted that he shared my enthusiasm about staying in this role," Selig said in a statement. "The All-Star Game celebrates all the best of our game, and it is very appropriate that we will have the chance to celebrate one of the greatest managerial careers of all-time as a part of our festivities."

McGraw retired after the 1932 season and managed the National League in the first All-Star game the following year.

Danny Murtaugh managed the NL All-Star team in 1972 after stepping down following Pittsburgh's 1971 World Series title, but Major League Baseball doesn't consider him retired for that appearance because he returned to manage the Pirates from 1973-76.

This will be La Russa's sixth time managing an All-Star team, three in each league.

Two managers led All-Star teams after moving to new teams, Dick Williams in 1974 after switching from the Athletics to the Angels and Dusty Baker in 2003 after switching from the Giants to the Cubs.

La Russa and Joe Torre are tied for fourth with six All-Star managing appearances, trailing Casey Stengel (10), Walter Alston (9) and Joe McCarthy (7).

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/347875155d53465d95cec892aeb06419/Article_2012-01-24-BBO-All-Star-Game-La-Russa/id-172eef41d10f4b7aaefb3a3cc1e640b6

blackout blackout congress censored tim lincecum darvish stop sopa

Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Officials: Car bombs kill 14 across Baghdad

People gather at the scene of a car bomb attack in Sadr City eastern of Baghdad, Iraq, Tuesday, Jan. 24, 2012. Two separate car bombs exploded in the Shiite district of Sadr City killing and wounding several people, police said. (AP Photo/Karim Kadim)

A man inspects the scene of a car bomb attack in Sadr City eastern of Baghdad, Iraq, Tuesday, Jan. 24, 2012. Two separate car bombs exploded in the Shiite district of Sadr City killing and wounding several people, police said. (AP Photo/Karim Kadim)

Security forces inspect the scene of a car bomb attack in Sadr City eastern of Baghdad, Iraq, Tuesday, Jan. 24, 2012. Two separate car bombs exploded in the Shiite district of Sadr City killing and wounding several people, police said. (AP Photo/Karim Kadim)

BAGHDAD (AP) ? A wave of car bombings hit the Iraq capital on Tuesday, killing 14 people and wounding more than 70 as violence surges in the country amid an escalating political crisis a month after the U.S. military withdrawal.

At least 170 people have died in attacks since the beginning of the year, many of them Shiite pilgrims attending religious commemorations. The last American soldiers left the country Dec. 18.

Suspected Sunni insurgents have frequently targeted Shiite communities and Iraqi security forces to undermine public confidence in the Shiite-dominated government and its efforts to protect people.

Tuesday's first attack targeted an early morning gathering of day laborers in Baghdad's Sadr City neighborhood. Police said eight were killed and another 21 wounded. Minutes later, an explosives-packed car blew up near a pastry shop in the same district, killing three people and wounding 26, police said.

Later in the morning, two more explosives-laden cars detonated, killing three and wounding 29 people.

A parked car bomb exploded near a high school at 10:30 a.m. in the predominantly Shiite neighborhood of Shula in northern Baghdad, killing two students and wounding 16 others, most of them also students, according to local police.

In the neighboring district of Hurriya, one person was killed when an explosives-packed car, parked along a busy commercial street detonated five minutes after the Shula blast, police officials said. Thirteen people were injured in that bombing.

Hospital officials in Baghdad confirmed the death toll. All officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media.

While insurgents have carried out a number of deadly attacks in recent years, there is little indication so far that the country is slipping back toward the widespread sectarian bloodshed of 2006 and 2007.

Nonetheless, these recent attacks are seen as particularly dangerous because they coincide with both the departure of U.S. troops, as well as a political crisis pitting Shiite officials against the largest Sunni-backed bloc.

The political battle erupted last month after the Shiite-led government issued an arrest warrant against the Sunni vice president, Tareq al-Hashemi, on terrorism charges, sending him into virtual exile in the Kurdish autonomous region in northern Iraq. In protest, al-Hashemi's Sunni-backed Iraqiya bloc has been boycotting parliament and Cabinet sessions, bringing government work to a standstill.

Sunnis fear that without the American presence as a last-resort guarantor of a sectarian balance, the Shiite government will try to pick off their leaders one by one, as Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki tries to cement his own grip on power.

Last week, the leader of the Sunni-backed Iraqiya bloc, Ayad Allawi, accused al-Maliki of unfairly targeting Sunni officials and deliberately triggering a political crisis that is tearing Iraq apart. Allawi, who is a Shiite, said Iraq needs a new prime minister or new elections to prevent the country from disintegrating along sectarian lines.

____

Associated Press writer Barbara Surk in Baghdad contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2012-01-24-ML-Iraq/id-d0a8ce4152d3469b90ba01bf8b06a902

safe and sound botticelli x factor winner footlocker julia gillard julia gillard pecan pie

Monday, January 23, 2012

'DWTS' pro Derek: 'I cried at home every night'

Kevin Lynch / GSN

"Dancing With the Stars" pro Derek Hough.

By Anna Chan

Oh, who's the bad boy of "Dancing With the Stars" now?

In a new video released by GSN, pro Derek Hough decided to get a few things off his chest about working with the celeb ladies he gets partnered with on the show.

"I have a paddle?-- a wooden paddle -- and it's basically?[makes whipping sound]?just kind of smack them around a little bit," Derek joked -- we hope! (Hmm ... could that be part of the reason why his most recent partner, Ricki Lake, had post-traumatic stress from "Dancing"? He certainly got her?into dancing shape, and fast!)

But that's not all the supposedly good-guy pro had to share. "Surprisingly, one of my most challenging partners was actually ... I can't get personal," he teased. "This woman drained me. I cried at home every night." See what else he had to say:

While Derek was spilling juicy little secrets to the cameras,?his fellow pro Maksim Chmerkovskiy was busy relaxing and?having some fun during his shoot. Yep, the bad boy of the ballroom set aside his seriousness and fiery temper, and instead, let loose the goofiness that fans have seen only glimpses of during practice and backstage clips.

From goofy dance moves to a quick rap to?sexy eyebrow arching, the pro does it all. Check out his clip, but beware, because in true bad-boy form, he drops a few bleeped F-bombs:

Want more of Maks and Derek? Watch (or re-watch) season four of "DWTS" on GSN on Saturday nights at 6. For those of you eagerly awaiting season 14, only 56 more days to go until March 19!

Which partner do you think Derek was crying about? What did you think of Maks' goofy side? Share your thoughts on our Facebook page!

manny pacquiao vs marquez dish network cbs news manny pacquiao fight pacquiao marquez pacquiao marquez penn state game

Sunday, January 22, 2012

Editorial: Don't call it an ultrabook

Every year at CES, the tech-watching masses engage in a bit of trendspotting -- an attempt to identify the one or two big themes of the show that may or may not come to define the year in technology. Some years those are easy to spot (tablets and 3D TV were two big ones recently), and other times they involve a bit of guesswork. This year, one of the most oft-cited trends is the "ultrabook." Judging from the companies' announcements at the show and some of the coverage they've received, you might think that's a new sort of device or a radically new type of laptop. But, really, they're just laptops. Small, thin laptops -- but laptops.

It's actually Ultrabook, with a capital "U," and a (TM). The name is a wholly-owned creation of Intel, and the hype you've seen for them at CES is only just the beginning. Intel is reportedly planning its biggest advertising push in eight years to promote Ultrabooks, and it's clearly already done a decent job of bringing hardware manufacturers on board the bandwagon. How many new "laptop" announcements do you remember from CES?

Continue reading Editorial: Don't call it an ultrabook

Editorial: Don't call it an ultrabook originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 19 Jan 2012 18:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | | Email this | Comments

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/01/19/editorial-dont-call-it-an-ultrabook/

lakers news rachel crow rachel crow steelers browns albert pujols pau gasol va tech

Saturday, January 21, 2012

Cell senescence does not stop tumor growth

Friday, January 20, 2012

Since cancer cells grow indefinitely, it is commonly believed that senescence could act as a barrier against tumor growth and potentially be used as a way to treat cancer. A collaboration between a cancer biologist from the University of Milano, Italy, and two physicists, from the National Research Council of Italy and from Cornell University, has shown that cell senescence occurs spontaneously in melanoma cells, but does not stop their growth, which is sustained by a small population of cancer stem cells. The results, published in the open-access journal PLoS Computational Biology on January 19 explain why it is difficult to treat cancer cells by inducing senescence alone.

The work explores the relationship between melanoma and senescence, the normal process where cells decline and eventually stop duplicating after reaching maturity. The investigators followed the long-term evolution of melanoma cell populations, monitoring the number of senescent cells. After three months, growth slowed and most of the cells turned senescent, however growth did not stop and eventually resumed its initial rate until the senescent cells had almost disappeared.

The authors mathematically modeled the experimental data using the cancer stem cell hypothesis, where a sub-group of cancer cells replicate indefinitely, and are thus unaffected by senescence. These cancer stem cells give rise to a larger population of cancer cells that can duplicate only a finite number of times. The model yielded an indirect confirmation of the presence of cancer stem cells in melanoma, an issue that is still controversial in the cancer research community.

Although a large fraction of cancer cells are susceptible to senescence, the researchers conclude that inducing senescence is unlikely to provide a successful therapeutic strategy because these cells are irrelevant for tumor growth. However, the indirect evidence of cancer stem cells in melanoma may enable the development of new methods to treat specific kinds of cancer. The challenge will be in the strong resistance to drug induced senescence that would be found in the cancer stem cells. Along this line of research, treatment of tumors would focus on targeting only these cancer stem cells, rather than every single cancerous cell.

###

La Porta CAM, Zapperi S, Sethna JP (2012) Senescent Cells in Growing Tumors: Population Dynamics and Cancer Stem Cells. PLoS Comput Biol 8(1): e1002316. doi:10.1371/journal.pcbi.1002316

Public Library of Science: http://www.plos.org

Thanks to Public Library of Science for this article.

This press release was posted to serve as a topic for discussion. Please comment below. We try our best to only post press releases that are associated with peer reviewed scientific literature. Critical discussions of the research are appreciated. If you need help finding a link to the original article, please contact us on twitter or via e-mail.

This press release has been viewed 76 time(s).

Source: http://www.labspaces.net/116906/Cell_senescence_does_not_stop_tumor_growth

maurice jones drew megyn kelly unclaimed money richard hamilton

US moves up 1 spot to 33rd in FIFA rankings

updated 12:20 p.m. ET Jan. 18, 2012

ZURICH - World and European champion Spain retained the top spot in the FIFA rankings for the fifth straight month, and the United States moved up one place to 33rd.

The Americans' ranking is its highest since it was 31st in September. The U.S. had been 11th in September-October 2009 and reached a high of fourth in April 2006.

The top 10 places were unchanged from December after just 11 international matches were played last month. The Netherlands is second, followed by Germany, South American champion Uruguay, England. Brazil, Portugal, Croatia, Italy and Argentina.

Mexico, at 21st, has the top ranking in North and Central America and the Caribbean.

More newsRobert Cianflone / Getty ImagesChristof Stache / AFP - Getty Images

Source: http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/46042169/ns/sports-soccer/

verizon galaxy nexus verizon galaxy nexus lawrence lessig lawrence lessig time magazine person of the year 2011 time magazine person of the year 2011 good morning america

Friday, January 20, 2012

Money Ball for Medicine ? Business Models for Healthcare ...

Editor?s note:?This guest post was written by?Dave Chase, the CEO of?Avado.com, a patient portal & relationship management company that was a?TechCrunch Disrupt finalist. Previously he was a management consultant for Accenture?s healthcare practice and founder of Microsoft?s Health platform business. You can follow him on Twitter@chasedave.

Entrepreneurial epiphanies surface in random places. For Eric Page, it was watching Brad Pitt?s latest movie, Moneyball. The epiphany caused him to shift Amplify Health?s business model from a provider of technology to a heavy user of technology. While there is a wave of disruptive technology in healthtech, as interesting is the wave of disruptive innovation on the care delivery side of healthcare. These companies aren?t technology companies, however technology plays a pivotal role.

Previously, Page had been the Founder & President of REM Medical, a clinic for sufferers of sleep apnea. A key part of any sleep clinic?s service is prescribing CPAP machines. The problem is that the percentage of people who actually follow-through is quite low (40%) even though the results can dramatically improve one?s life. A series of behavioral insights, often applied through the use of technology allowed REM Medical to double the industry average adherence to 79%. As healthcare shifts from a ?do more, bill more? model of reimbursement to a value and outcomes-based model, these kinds of results will separate the winners from the losers. Amplify Health?s original vision was to package the behavioral insights in software and sell them to providers.

With the success of his previous company, Page thought it would be easy to sell this vision to healthcare providers. Unfortunately, many healthcare providers are making the same mistakes that newspaper companies made in the late 90?s. That is, they aren?t moving as quickly as circumstances dictate. The problem is that urgency is sometimes only evident in hindsight. This is what led to the Moneyball epiphany.

For those who haven?t seen the movie or read the book, Moneyball tells the story of how Major League Baseball?s Oakland A?s Billy Beane (the team?s General Manager) was faced with a payroll that was one-third the size of their competition. Beane realized he needed to come up with a different way of picking players or he?d lose bidding wars against richer teams. For over 20 years, baseball statistician Bill James had proffered theories of baseball statistics that flew in the face of conventional wisdom on what statistics best represented a player?s value to a team. James was ignored until Billy Beane came along. He applied James? theories with great success regularly fielding playoff teams that had one-third to one-half the payroll of the teams they competed against.

While watching Moneyball, Page had the realization that he had been acting like Bill James evangelizing his theories. Even with a successful track record, he wasn?t getting the traction he desired. Instead, he decided he should become Billy Beane and apply his knowledge to his own company. Rather than monetize via a software licensing model, Amplify Health will be in the onsite clinic segment delivering primary care and managing chronic conditions. [See DIY Health Reform: Employers Solving Healthcare Crisis One Onsite Clinic At A Time for more on onsite clinics.]

Amplify Health isn?t alone in this trend. Other examples include MedLion, One Medical Group, Qliance and White Glove Health [Disclosure: MedLion is a customer of Avado's]. These are healthcare providers who?ve applied technology to enhance their competitive advantage. Traditional healthcare providers should be on notice about these types of disruptive innovators. After all, in the late 90?s the newspaper companies were worried about other media competitors and big players such as Microsoft. What devastated their business models was an array of niche competitors who bit by bit hollowed out chunks of their business. Companies such as Monster.com, eBay, Cars.com, Zillow, Craigslist and many others. Like newspapers that were oligopolies or monopolies, many large health systems haven?t been faced with the level of competition that is emerging. As William Gibson has stated, ?the future is here, it?s just unevenly distributed.?

By definition, the legacy HealthIT vendors have optimized their solutions around the legacy reimbursement and delivery models that have created the hyperinflation in healthcare crushing family, business and government budgets. The exciting aspect of this for the healthtech startup community is entire new categories of software are emerging to support disruptive innovation taking place on the care delivery side. Even more promising is that many providers, payers and pharmaceutical companies have set up innovation groups. I wrote about one earlier ? Healthcare Field of Dreams In Idaho: Health System Opens Innovation Center. An array of new models are being tested at organizations such as Horizon Health Innovations, Catholic Health West, Trinity Health, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Florida, Catholic Health Partners, Blue Shield of California and many others.

Often what has passed for innovation in healthcare is a clever way to maximize the latest reimbursement code or government incentive. For example, a large swath of providers are chasing after Meaningful Use incentives. Meanwhile, there are others building a sustainable competitive advantage in rethinking delivery models from the ground up. Not long ago, CareMore was acquired for $800 Million by WellPoint because they?d developed a creative new delivery model. VCs are taking notice. For example, Dirk Lammerts, MD is a VC with the Burrill Venture Capital Group who has stated he will avoid investing in businesses dependent on Medicare reimbursement. Rather, he wants true disruptive innovation.

Taking place this week is the Health Innovation Summit being put on by RockHealth. I?m moderating a panel on business models for health-related startups ? panel members include Linda Avey, Ron Gutman and Jennifer Wong. I will speak to some of the aforementioned business models and the accompanying business models for companies that support those entities. Collectively, we?ll discuss models ranging from monetizing mobile apps to how value can be derived as a byproduct of customer use (e.g., PracticeFusion) to media models and more. What creative business models in healthcare should we be aware of? Please add your comments below.

Linda Avey is co-founder and CEO of Curious, Inc., a personal data discovery platform. Previously, she co-founded 23andMe, the leading personal genetics company. Her early career focused on sales and business development roles in the biopharmaceutical industry in San Francisco, Boston, San Diego, and Washington, D.C. While at Affymetrix and Perlegen Sciences, she focused on development of translational research collaborations with academic and pharmaceutical partners. Linda also worked at Spotfire helping researchers maximize value from scientific data through visualization...

Learn more

Ron is HealthTap?s Founder and CEO. He?s responsible for the company?s innovation, vision, and product. Prior to founding HealthTap, Ron was the founder and CEO of Wellsphere, a leading online consumer health 2.0 company that developed the world?s largest community of independent health writers and became one of the largest health sites on the Internet, serving more than 100 million users to date (acquired in early 2009). Prior to creating Wellsphere, as a graduate student at Stanford University, Ron...

Learn more

One Medical Group is a member-supported primary care medical practice that is redefining modern medical care by leveraging technology and innovative best practices to provide patients with affordable, high-quality care. One Medical offers patients comprehensive primary care services ??? delivered conveniently from modern, professional offices and via online technology. Services include same-day appointments, longer visits that start on time, on-site specialty services including gynecology and dermatology, and an integrative approach that emphasizes prevention and nutrition. With a focus of delivering...

Learn more

Qliance Medical Management, Inc. is a ?direct primary care? provider founded in 2006 and provides operating and management services to Qliance Medical Group of Washington PC, which operates clinics under the Qliance® brand. Qliance offers people of all ages and incomes unrestricted access to all types of primary, preventive and chronic illness care for one monthly membership fee, ranging between $49 and $89, depending on age, for its core service level. Qliance does not exclude anyone for pre-existing conditions...

Learn more

Source: http://techcrunch.com/2012/01/17/money-ball-for-medicine-business-models-for-healthcare/

alabama football coachella 2012 line up lsu crimson tide crimson tide dixville notch 2013 ford fusion

Vermont Can?t Shut Down Nuclear Plant, Judge Rules

[unable to retrieve full-text content]A federal judge blocked Vermont from shutting down the Vermont Yankee reactor, saying the state is trying to regulate nuclear safety, something only the federal government can do.

Source: http://feeds.nytimes.com/click.phdo?i=76402b418df741a4f4bc673cde270272

michaele salahi jill zarin dexter mccluster dexter mccluster david beckham tyche tyche

Thursday, January 19, 2012

Strong earthquake strikes off New Zealand (AP)

INVERCARGILL, New Zealand ? A strong earthquake has struck off the coast of New Zealand's South Island, but there are no reports of damage or injuries and no tsunami warning has been issued.

The 6.1-magnitude quake struck Thursday 126 miles (203 kilometers) west of New Zealand's southernmost city, Invercargill, at a depth of 11 miles (18 kilometers).

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center did not issue an alert.

A devastating quake ravaged the New Zealand city of Christchurch last year, killing 182 people.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/weather/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120119/ap_on_re_as/as_new_zealand_earthquake

joseph gordon levitt katy perry russell brand kevin durant rutgers mark hurd new ipad 3 baylor

Wednesday, January 18, 2012

Suspect in Montana teacher's abduction has long criminal record (Reuters)

(Reuters) ? One of two men charged with abducting a Montana teacher reported missing and presumed dead was previously convicted in Florida of nearly a dozen crimes, including burglary and drug offenses, and served time in that state's prison system, legal records show.

Sketchy details from the lengthy criminal record of Lester Vann Waters, 47, came to light as FBI agents and police in Montana and North Dakota pressed their search for possible sites where the remains of the missing woman might have been buried.

Sherry Arnold, 43, a high school math instructor from the northeastern Montana farming community of Sidney, vanished on January 7 after setting off for a predawn run along a truck route on the outskirts of town. She was later reported missing by her husband, and one of her shoes was recovered during an initial search of the area.

Waters was arrested Thursday night in Williston, North Dakota, about 45 miles east of Sidney, following an anonymous tip to a hotline set up in the investigation.

A second man, Michael Keith Spell, 22, was detained for questioning in Rapid City, South Dakota, on Friday, the same day that Arnold's spouse was informed by authorities that his wife was presumed dead.

Over the weekend, authorities named Spell as a second suspect, and the two men, both from Parachute, Colorado, were charged with aggravated kidnapping. Both were being held in Williston.

The FBI on Sunday confirmed that Arnold may be dead even though her body has not yet been found. Investigators have asked landowners in Williston and adjacent rural areas near Sidney to check for possible burial sites where there are mature or rotted trees.

Meanwhile, legal records in Florida, where Waters resided for at least 22 years, showed he was arrested in that state on suspicion of dozens of misdemeanors and felonies dating from 1986 to 2008, and amassed convictions for such offenses as dealing cocaine, burglary and a hit-and-run injury accident.

The Florida Department of Law Enforcement, which listed his occupation as that of a construction worker, also documented that he served time in various county jails and the state penitentiary.

Arnold's disappearance and presumed death have shaken the sense of safety and security in Sidney, the seat of a Montana county known for leading the state in production of sugar beets and dry beans.

The town of 5,000 is experiencing rapid growth linked to a regional oil and gas boom related to hydraulic fracturing, or fracking.

Sidney Mayor Bret Smelser told Reuters in a weekend interview that city officials are seeking to ease the fears "that some of the female population have right now" by reestablishing the neighborhood watch program and examining other kinds of surveillance.

"We hope the community remains the same as it was ... a community that accepts outsiders, knowing that 99.9 percent want a better life just like the rest of us," he said.

(Editing by Steve Gorman and Barbara Goldberg)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/us/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120117/us_nm/us_teacher_montana

build miss usa 2011 miss usa 2011 stevie nicks sarah michelle gellar living social nelson mandela

Hundreds mark MLK holiday outside SC capitol

People arrive at the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial in Washington, Monday, Jan. 16, 2012, for a ceremony honoring his legacy. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

From left, activist Dick Gregory, Rev. Al Sharpton, and Washington Mayor Vincent Gray say a prayer during a ceremony at the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial in Washington, Monday, Jan. 16, 2012, during a ceremony to honor his legacy. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Alicia Watkins of Washington smiles at the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial in Washington, Monday, Jan. 16, 2012, prior to the start of a ceremony to honor his legacy. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) ? Hundreds of people rallied Monday outside the South Carolina capitol to honor the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday and protest the state's voter identification law.

While rallies in previous years have often been focused on protesting the Confederate flag that flies outside the Statehouse near a memorial for Confederate soldiers, the attention this year has turned to the voter ID law.

The U.S. Justice Department has rejected the law. The Obama administration said it didn't pass muster under the 1965 voting rights act, which outlawed discriminatory practices that prevented blacks from voting. On Monday, marchers carried signs that read: "Voter ID(equals)Poll Tax."

U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder was among those slated to speak.

William Barber, president of the North Carolina NAACP, spoke during a morning prayer service and left little doubt that the law would be the day's focus. He spoke of the many black pioneers who gave their lives so their children and grandchildren could vote, referring to civil rights icons like Medgar Evers. He also referred to three South Carolina State University students gunned down by police during a civil rights protest in 1968.

Barber said it was a critical time to make sure hard-fought voting rights are not lost.

"We are here to stand up, not to back down," Barber said.

Several other states have enacted laws similar to the one passed in South Carolina, which requires voters to show a photo ID before casting ballots. Texas, Alabama, Kansas, Mississippi, Rhode Island, Tennessee and Wisconsin are among them.

Such laws already were on the books in Georgia and Indiana, and they were approved by President George W. Bush's Justice Department. Indiana's law, passed in 2005, was upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2008.

Critics have likened the laws to the poll taxes and tests used to prevent blacks from voting during the civil rights era. Supporters, many of whom are Republicans, say such laws are needed to prevent fraud.

In Holder's prepared remarks Monday, which were released by his office before he spoke, the nation's top attorney pledged to make the nation's elections system more accessible to U.S. citizens. Holder disagreed with those who say parts of the Voting Rights Act are no longer necessary.

"I wish this were the case. But the reality is that ? in jurisdictions across the country - both overt and subtle forms of discrimination remain all too common," he said.

"And though nearly five decades have passed since Dr. King shared his vision from the mountaintop ? despite all the progress we've made, the barriers we've broken down, and the divisions we've healed ? as a nation, we have not yet reached the Promised Land."

Cities across the U.S. were hosting rallies and other events to mark the holiday. In Washington, President Barack Obama and his family were commemorating the day with a volunteer service project at a local school. The family greeted volunteers and then helped build bookshelves in the school's library. The president said there was no better way to celebrate King's life than to spend the day helping others.

Washington is home to the Martin Luther King Jr. memorial, where some braved temperatures around 30 degrees Monday to visit the 30-foot statue of King.

Dorothy Drake, 61, and her sister Beulah Ashby, 59, were visiting the memorial from North Carolina. The women both went to segregated schools as children and remembered not being able to eat inside certain restaurants, sitting on the back of the bus, and not being allowed to stay in certain hotels.

Ashby said she was proud that King now stands among the presidents honored with memorials in the nation's capital.

"I woke up this morning, and it gave me great joy to know that I was coming here," Ashby said. "I know it's a piece of stone, and I know it's one man, but it was just pride. Pride. Happiness. Joy, in just knowing that I could come and just have a piece of that history, the changing in the world."

___

Associated Press writer Jessica Gresko contributed to this report from Washington.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2012-01-16-MLK%20Day/id-c016464652714d8d8724957b4092a9fa

cma awards cma awards christmas tree tax cmas cmas world series of poker joe walsh

Wednesday, January 4, 2012

ferezabella: Os produtores dos EUA escolhem os melhores do ano - forte term?metro do Oscar hein! http://t.co/TTu3YgRm

Passer la navigation
Twitter sur votre mobile ? Cliquez ici m.twitter.com!
Passer cette ?tape
Connexion

Os produtores dos EUA escolhem os melhores do ano - forte term?metro do Oscar hein! fernandaezabella.folha.blog.uol.com.br/arch2012-01-01? Il y a environ 12 heures via web Retweeted by 2 people

ferezabella

fernanda ezabella

Pied de page

Source: http://twitter.com/ferezabella/statuses/154255240978370560

bennett daniel day lewis patti stanger pasadena pasadena famu famu

03:00 pm Women's Basketball at New York University (NYU New Year's Classic)

General contact: Wesleyan Station, Middletown, CT 06459, (860) 685-2000 ? Office of Admission: 70 Wyllys Avenue, (860) 685-3000

Wes on the web: Connection ? Facebook ? Flickr ? iTunes U ? LinkedIn ? Magazine ? Twitter ? WESU 88.1 FM ? YouTube ? Zinch

Site information: Copyright & privacy ? Send us feedback ? Site search: Careers ? Wesleyan

? 2011 Wesleyan University

Source: http://events.wesleyan.edu/f?p=173:6:::NO::P6_DATEPICKER,P5_DATEPICKER_LABEL,P5_SEARCH_TERM,P5_CATEGORY_ID,P6_EVENT_ID,P6_SEARCH_TERM:01/03/2012,,,,130853,

jacksonville jaguars jacksonville jaguars iraq war over iraq war over maurice jones drew golden globe nominees megyn kelly

Tuesday, January 3, 2012

Mac Miller Brings 'Party' To 'NYE In NYC 2012'

During Saturday night's live MTV special, MC re-creates '80s -inspired 'Party on Fifth Ave' video.
By James Dinh

Mac Miller (file)
Photo: Getty Images

NEW YORK — Underground-turned-chart topping MC Mac Miller was treated quite nicely by 2011, and he ended the year on a high note when he served up a performance of "Party on Fifth Ave" during MTV's "NYE in NYC 2012" on Saturday night.

To re-create the tune's '80s-inspired clip, Miller arrived on set with high energy and never ceased his interaction with the audience. Dressed in a vintage jacket, tuxedo shirt and backward cap, the Pittsburgh rapper bounced alongside his crew of appropriately dressed friends and dancers in front of the audience as he spit the DJ Mark the 45 King-sampling tune.

"There's a party on Fifth Ave., hit me if you try'n a go/ I can be there in like 20/ I'mma honk it and come runnin', 'cause we gotta hit the road/ Make you sure you got a clean shirt, clean pants, new shoes/ Or just hitch a ride there, you choose," he rapped in front of the jumping crowd.

MTV News spoke with the MC backstage during the event, where he shared his thoughts on the big night. "It's funny because, in the moment, it just feels like another day at work," the MC told us. "This is what I do for a living. But then, in actuality, stepping back and thinking about it, performing live on MTV for the News Year's Eve with millions of people watching is pretty crazy."

Asked why he chose to recreate the clip, Miller explained, "I just think it's a funny video, and I wanted to do something more than just stand up there and rap or something. We wanted to do something funky, and I wanted to keep all my homeys involved — get their faces on national TV."

Mac wasn't the only performer to rock out until 2012 as Demi Lovato, Selena Gomez, J. Cole and Jason Derülo also performed during the all-star Times Square event.

Miller's performance of "Fifth Ave" ends a rather eventful year for the rapper, during which he topped the Billboard albums chart with his debut album, Blue Slide Park.

Share your review of Mac Miller's New Year's Eve performance below.

Related Artists

Mac Miller

Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1676634/mac-miller-nye-nyc-2012.jhtml

makana makana gloria cain gloria cain kandi burruss occupy portland occupy portland

WKTV: Joseph Fusco sworn in as new mayor of Rome http://t.co/CzidAyUj #wktv

Passer la navigation
Twitter sur votre mobile ? Cliquez ici m.twitter.com!
Passer cette ?tape
Connexion

Joseph Fusco sworn in as new mayor of Rome bit.ly/srN0Oe #wktv Il y a environ 10 heures via twitterfeed

WKTV

WKTV NEWSChannel 2

Pied de page

Source: http://twitter.com/WKTV/statuses/153239925674881024

dingo fidel castro gilbert arenas north korea dexter dexter baltimore ravens

Monday, January 2, 2012

Ex-rebel now Mayor of Bogota

video transcript

PLEASE NOTE THIS EDIT CONTAINS CONVERTED 4:3 MATERIAL Former rebel, Gustavo Petro is sworn into office. He won what is considered to be the country's second most important political position, the Mayor of Bogota. Around 5000 people turned up to watch the ceremony in Plaza Bolivar. He won the October elections saying security, climate and education would be the first things his team would tackle. Among his campaign promises, the former M-19 rebel also said he would work towards freeing the city of weapons. Marie-Claire Fennessy, Reuters.

Jan 02 - A former M-19 rebel, Gustavo Petro, wins Colombia's second most important political position, Mayor of Bogota. Marie-Claire Fennessy reports.?( Transcript )

Source: http://feeds.reuters.com/~r/reuters/UKVideoTopNews/~3/UJO09bTiwew/ex-rebel-now-mayor-of-bogota

conrad murray verdict tappan zee bridge jessica chastain jessica chastain nook tablet eagles magic johnson

Remote for Roku for iPhone / iPod touch for free

Sorry, Readability was unable to parse this page for content.

Source: http://dealnews.com/Remote-for-Roku-for-iPhone-iPod-touch-for-free/536055.html?iref=rss-dealnews-todays-edition

kody brown transylvania terrell owens terrell owens carrie ann inaba california earthquake california earthquake

Sunday, January 1, 2012

In a switch, Paul ignores the media (Politico)

SIOUX CENTER, Iowa ? Neglect by the mainstream media is so central to Ron Paul?s identity that his campaign uses it to raise money. But as his surging poll numbers in Iowa have drawn scrutiny to his incendiary newsletters, reporters are complaining that Paul is now the one ignoring the mainstream media.

It?s been hard to turn on cable TV lately without catching an interview with one of his competitors, yet Paul himself has been noticeably absent.

Until booking a Friday night interview with Bloomberg TV, he had not done a single national media interview all week ? a sudden drop-off that followed a string of testy interviews last week, during which CNN and Fox reporters probed him on his knowledge of the decades-old newsletters? content. During one exchange, he appeared so frustrated with questioning by CNN?s Gloria Borger that he removed his microphone and walked away. His campaign contends the interview was simply over.

Meanwhile, national reporters on the Paul beat are grumbling that the candidate almost never takes their questions at events anymore and has done only one press ?avail? since August ? and that ended abruptly after two minutes last week when someone asked about the newsletters.

The tightened access to reporters is fairly typical for a candidate near the top of the polls bearing down on voting day. But in a half-dozen interviews with reporters assigned to follow Paul on the trail, journalists expressed frustration about how inaccessible Paul had become ? particularly after his campaign?s loud complaints this summer about not getting covered.

?They?ve been sending out fundraising letters saying, ?We don?t get enough coverage,? but they don?t do media avails, and a lot of us reporters are frustrated,? said one Paul beat reporter who asked not to be named because the reporter didn?t have permission to talk to the press. ?He had been answering reporter questions on his way out the door, but since he has been back from Christmas, on Wednesday, he hasn?t even been doing that.?

Paul campaign Chairman Jesse Benton denies that the campaign is dodging tough questions, pointing out that nearly half of the weeklong stretch without national media interviews was taken up by the holidays.

?We have had many requests, but Dr. Paul?s priority has been spending time with his family over Christmas and talking to Iowa and New Hampshire voters and press,? Benton said.

That stretch will end on Friday night, when he will sit down with ?Political Capital with Al Hunt,? and more definitively on Sunday, when he will perform a hat trick by appearing on ?Fox News Sunday,? ABC?s ?This Week? and CNN?s ?State of the Union.?

But campaign reporters are unlikely to get many more opportunities to ask questions. Paul will tape his appearances on these shows from his home in Texas, where he will be spending the weekend away from the campaign trail before the Tuesday caucuses.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/politics/*http%3A//us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/external/politico_rss/rss_politico_mostpop/http___www_politico_com_news_stories1211_70973_html/44039687/SIG=11muv5ofp/*http%3A//www.politico.com/news/stories/1211/70973.html

crimson tide crimson tide day light savings time curmudgeon daylight savings time 2011 selena daylight savings

Clark celebrates 40 years rocking New Year's Eve (AP)

NEW YORK ? Forty years ago, Dick Clark's New Year's Eve special was created to give young people an alternative to a seasonal institution, bandleader Guy Lombardo.

Now Clark's annual show is the institution.

"New Year's Rockin' Eve," with Clark and Ryan Seacrest, pays tribute to its own history during a sprawling, nearly six-hour program Saturday night. The celebration takes up all of prime time on ABC, breaks for a half-hour of local news, then comes back on the air for two and a quarter hours that includes the ball dropping in New York City's Times Square to mark the beginning of 2012.

"I'm looking forward to it being 2:15 (a.m. on Sunday)," said Larry Klein, who has been producing the show since 1977.

Clark's special shows no sign of slippage, after collecting its biggest audience in five years last year. The 18.8 million people who were watching ABC during the last half-hour of 2010 and first half-hour of 2011 were more than NBC and Fox's audience combined, the Nielsen ratings company said.

The show isn't designed to be a recap of the year in music, but that's almost what it turns out to be, Klein said.

In all, 29 separate musical performances are planned.

This year's headliner is Lady Gaga, who gets the prime slot in Times Square in the moments before midnight. Justin Bieber, Pitbull, Hot Chelle Rae, Florence + The Machine, Gym Class Heroes, Nicki Minaj and Taio Cruz are among the other featured performers from New York and Los Angeles. Beyonce is scheduled to perform from London, where she's on tour.

It may not seem so from that lineup, but Klein said booking the show is a challenge because performers frequently are offered some of their most lucrative gigs of the year on New Year's Eve. What Clark has to offer is exposure to a large audience not often seen this side of "American Idol."

And it's unique. Klein remembers Jennifer Lopez's exhilaration a few years back after performing in Times Square despite wearing a skimpy outfit and being pelted by freezing rain.

"No matter how much I can try to explain to people what it's like to be in Times Square live, I can't do it justice," he said. "You have to experience it once in your life."

During the first two hours, ABC will show clips of performances from past New Year's Eve specials, which Klein describes as a fascinating trip through hair, clothing and musical styles. Stars of Clark's first "Rockin' Eve" included Al Green, Helen Reddy and Three Dog Night.

New Year's Eve also marks the annual appearance of Clark, once a ubiquitous presence on television. A stroke makes it difficult for Clark to communicate, but he doesn't want to miss this show, Klein said.

"Dick is still Dick Clark," he said. "His communication is a little bit more difficult, but he's still involved in contemporary music. He listens to a lot, he knows a lot, he's still involved in the production. This is very important to him. This is one of his children."

Among the other big broadcasters, NBC and Fox will both be in Times Square on New Year's Eve, too. CBS hands its late-night schedule to its local affiliates.

Highlights of other New Year's Eve offerings:

_Carson Daly is host of a two-hour NBC special, sandwiching local news. The show is heavy on NBC personalities, with a comedy performance from Jimmy Fallon, a review of the year in music from NBC News anchor Brian Williams and performances by Fallon's "Late Night" band, the Roots, and Cee Lo Green and Blake Shelton of "The Voice."

_Comic Rodney Carrington and "Pawn Stars" Rick Harrison and Austin "Chumlee" Russell host "American Country New Year's Eve Live" on Fox. Country stars Toby Keith and Joe Nichols are among the performers in a 90-minute special that switches between New York and Las Vegas.

_MTV's Times Square studio is the site of that network's New Year's Eve party, with Demi Lovato and "Teen Wolf" actor Tyler Posey as hosts. Lovato, Selena Gomez, J Cole and Mac Miller are among the performers.

_After 12 hours of counting down the year's top music videos, BET presents its "106 & Party" special at 11 p.m.

_Two news networks are also marking the occasion with specials. Fox News Channel's Bill Hemmer and Megyn Kelly are live in Times Square, and the network will have performances from country artists Big & Rich and Trace Adkins. On CNN, Anderson Cooper and comic Kathy Griffin have developed their own strange kind of chemistry, and will be back. Promises the outspoken Griffin: "By the time I'm done with him, Anderson's hair is going to be even more gray."

___

ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Co.

___

Online:

http://abc.go.com/

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/entertainment/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111229/ap_en_ot/us_tv_new_year_s_eve

diverticulitis jello shots buffalo chicken dip bowl games lobster recipes abc store nate diaz vs donald cerrone