Monday, April 24, 2017

Monday, April 24, 2017

OSU Today

Today in the News Media is a synopsis of some of the most prominent coverage of OSU people and programs. Inclusion of any item constitutes neither an endorsement nor a critique, but rather is intended only to make the OSU community aware of significant items in the media.
Will refusing an international assignment derail your career? (Harvard Business Review)
A piece by Anthony C. Klotz, an assistant professor of management at Oregon State University’s College of Business.
Engagement with natural environment a significant contributor to life satisfaction (Science Daily)
New research at Oregon State University empirically demonstrates that a variety of mechanisms for engaging nature significantly contribute to a person’s overall well-being. (see also Psych Central)
Single-payer activists come to Corvallis, tout universal care study (Lund Report)
“The question is not whether we can afford the single-payer system but how can we afford the current system,” said Chunhuei Chi, an expert in healthcare financing and professor at Oregon State University’s College of Public Health and Human Sciences.
Is a grand bargain for Oregon possible without Kitzhaber? (Oregonian)

Both Moore and Oregon State University political science professor emeritus Bill Lunch agree that Kitzhaber was key in shepherding the 2013 negotiations. Despite its eventual partial failure in the courts, at the time, the bargain was a shining example of bipartisanship.
8 unusual vegetables to add new flavor to your table (Oregonian)
Coon, an Oregon State University Extension Service master gardener, knew he was on to something when he’d be stopped in the grocery store by shoppers fascinated by the produce he was sending through the checkstand.
OSU board OKs 4 percent undergraduate tuition hike (KTVZ)
The Oregon State University Board of Trustees on Friday approved tuition and mandatory fees for the 2017-18 academic year. Tuition will increase 4 percent for Oregon resident undergraduate students and 2 percent for non-resident undergraduates on both the ...

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Inspired by land grant mission, state flag, OSU’s new logo emphasizes far-reaching service



CORVALLIS, Ore. – Oregon State University unveiled a new institutional logo and branding Monday that pays homage to OSU’s nearly 150 years of service as Oregon’s statewide university and its mission as a 21st-century land grant university.
Along with the logo and branding, Oregon State rolled out a creative marketing campaign entitled “Out There,” which emphasizes the expansive reach and relevance of the university’s statewide, national and global impacts.
The logo and branding were unveiled today during the Celebrate Oregon State event in Corvallis, with similar events planned for Wednesday in Portland and for May 3 in Bend.
“Oregon State University’s new institutional logo celebrates OSU’s near 150-year legacy of excellence in teaching, research, and outreach and engagement,” said Steve Clark, OSU’s vice president for University Relations and Marketing.
The new logo and its academic crest tell a unique story about the university’s mission as a land, sea, space and sun grant institution. On the new logo, a beaver (the state animal, as well as OSU’s mascot) sits atop an academic crest. Inside the crest, a tree and an open book represent knowledge. The three stars represent OSU’s three campuses in Corvallis, Bend and Newport, while also referencing Oregon as the 33rd state in the union. Finally, the year 1868 denotes OSU’s founding. The new look also offers a nod to the state of Oregon shield that is portrayed on the state flag. The crest also represents the geography of the state of Oregon.
Oregon State’s new institutional logo replaces the current orange “OSU” logo that was created in 2003. The OSU athletic logo remains as it has been since 2013.
“Establishing a refreshed visual identity with a powerful and cohesive look and feel was needed to represent the brand of the entire university,” Clark said. “This branded logo portrays the promise and product of ...

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The American Heart Association Recognizes UCR’s Health Initiative

UCR Today


AHA recognized UCR for a third year in a row. It presented two awards for its Healthy Campus Initative
By Shannon Koga on April 24, 2017
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On Wednesday, March 29, The American Heart Association (AHA) presented UCR with the AHA Fit-Friendly Employer Platinum recognition and the Worksite Innovation Award for the UCR Healthy Campus Initiative. shannon koga

For the third consecutive year, UC Riverside has been recognized for an outstanding healthy workplace environment.
On March 29, the American Heart Association (AHA) presented UCR with the AHA Fit-Friendly Employer Platinum recognition and the Worksite Innovation Award for its Healthy Campus Initiative. UCR is one of 19 institutions across the nation to receive the Worksite Innovation Award.
Sheryl Wilkeson and Jessica English, AHA business development directors, presented the awards and congratulated UCR for “talking the talk” and “walking the walk.”
“You created something new—something innovative that has not been done. You had a vision, you implemented, and you showed that it could be effective and efficient in your community. It was out-of-the-box thinking and adopted campuswide. For that, we are really proud of you,” Wilkeson said.
UCR implemented the Healthy Campus Initiative in January 2016. The initiative aims to improve quality of life and campus culture through a comprehensive approach including activity classes, education, and group exercise, among other things.
Ron Coley, vice chancellor of business administration services, and Deborah Deas, dean of the School of Medicine, accepted the awards on behalf of all involved with the UCR Healthy Campus Initiative.
“We do not rest on our laurels. We take the posture that ‘good enough isn’t good enough.’ We take the posture that ‘we’re committed to continuous improvement,'” said Coley, who lauded Julie Chobdee, Wellness Program coordinator, as “the most valuable player.” “I am so proud of what it is we’re doing here at UCR. I suspect UCR can lead ...

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A career spanning 50 years, multiple industries

Olin BlogOlin Blog

“I’ve had a great career and I’ve enjoyed every year of it, every minute of it.” How many people can say that? Howard Wood, BSBA’47, started out as an accountant at Arthur Anderson…for 26 years. Then he wanted to see what it was like on “the other side of the desk” and partnered with fellow Olin alum Jerry Kent to manage a cable TV company called Cencom Cable Associates.
They sold Cencom to Hallmark Cards Inc. in 1991 for an estimated $1billion, bought it back from Hallmark in 1995, and renamed the company Charter Communications. Wood and Kent sold Charter to Paul Allen in 1998 for $4.5 billion, according to the St. Louis Business Journal.
Wood’s ventures in the cable and communications industry included more than $25 billion in acquisitions and launching startups which Wood says is not for everyone. “You can’t be too risk adverse,” he says about entrepreneurship, but adds he doesn’t think of himself as an entrepreneur. “I think we’ve been professional managers.”
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‘Notable Women’ Playing Cards Honor Late Astronomer Judith Young and Mother

UMass Amherst: News Archive

A project celebrating international women in science was launched online this week featuring a new deck of playing cards that honors 54 “Notable Women in the Physical Sciences,” including the late UMass Amherst astronomer Judith Young and her mother, Vera Rubin, also an internationally recognized astronomer.The project is intended to draw attention to the accomplishments and contributions of women in several branches of physics, mathematics, electrical and computer engineering, planetary science, astronomy and in science communication.
Bunny Laden, founder and president of the California-based “Notable Women” card project, says that to the best of her knowledge, Rubin and Young are the only mother-daughter pair in the deck.
Among the “Notable Women,” Young appears on the Five of Diamonds and is also featured in a blog post by the project founder Laden. Young’s card notes that among many accomplishments, she won the Maria Geppart-Meyer Award, which recognizes outstanding achievement by a woman physicist in the early years of her career,and that she is known for pioneering galactic structure research and for creating the UMass Amherst Sunwheel.
Young created the circle of standing stones that align with the rising and setting sun during solstices and equinoxes. She began building the astronomical calendar in 1997 near McGuirk Alumni Stadium and for more than 15 years led seasonal sunrise and sunset gatherings at the site. Astronomy department head Stephen Schneider and others have continued them since her death in 2014 at age 61.  
Young had come to campus in 1979 as a postdoctoral research associate at the Five College Radio Astronomy Observatory, where she collaborated with Nick Z. Scoville on a study measuring carbon monoxide and the cold gas content of galaxies. They discovered the distribution of gas and light is proportional in galaxies. In 1982, the American Astronomical Society recognized this work by awarding her the Annie J. Cannon Prize for promising research by a young woman ...

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Declaration Day: Admissions Plans ‘Signing Day’ to Mark Confirmation Deadline

Headlines – Tennessee Today


The May 1 college confirmation deadline is just around the corner, and UT’s Office of Undergraduate Admissions will celebrate the day with a live Declaration Day event akin to National Football Signing Day.Admissions is teaming with VFL films to produce a one-hour live broadcast of this first-of-its-kind event, hosted by Tennessee Titans announcer Mike Keith, which will take place from 5 to 6 p.m. (EDT). The public is invited to view the Declaration Day event online or on Facebook and engage with Undergraduate Admissions on social media.
The campus community is invited to watch the festivities, which will take place in the Ray and Lucy Hand Digital Studio and directly outside in the plaza. Alumni and campus community members are encouraged to wear orange on May 1, use the Welcome to the Vol Family graphic on social media, and engage with Undergraduate Admissions on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat.
Students who will be enrolling at UT in the fall are encouraged to use the hashtags #volsdeclare and #utk21. Students can also share the I’m a Vol! and I Declared graphics. High school students interested in attending UT in the future are also encouraged to watch to learn more about the university.
“We want incoming students and those who may still be contemplating their decision that day to get caught up in the excitement of becoming part of the Volunteer family,” said Kari Alldredge, vice provost for enrollment management. “The event will have a festive atmosphere and let us highlight some of the students, faculty, staff, traditions, and accomplishments that make UT a great college choice.”
Alldredge said student confirmations are still arriving and UT is striving for another record-setting freshman enrollment in the fall.
Last year, UT enrolled 4,851 freshmen, the largest class in at least 30 years. It marked the sixth consecutive year of freshman growth.
The Declaration Day event will ...

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Recommendation Against Inhaled Flu Vaccine is Good—for Now—Pitt and CMU Analysis Finds



PITTSBURGH, April 24, 2017 – Recent federal recommendations against offering the inhaled nasal influenza vaccine due to lack of effectiveness could lead to more flu illness in the U.S. if the inhaled vaccine becomes effective again or if not having the choice of the needle-less vaccine substantially reduces immunization rates, according to a new analysis led by University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine scientists.



“The CDC is being appropriately cautious and doing the right thing based on available data,” said lead author Kenneth J. Smith, M.D., M.S., professor of medicine and clinical and translational science in Pitt’s School of Medicine. “However, our study finds that it would take only relatively small changes to tip the scales back in favor of offering the LAIV, so close monitoring is very important.”

The Pittsburgh Vaccination Research Group (PittVax) is one of a few sites across the U.S. that track flu in patients who received and did not receive the annual flu vaccine. The data they collect is shared with the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices and led to the CDC’s recommendation against LAIV last year after data from the two previous flu seasons showed it to be ineffective at preventing influenza A, which is typically the most common strain. In the past, the LAIV was a common vaccine offered to children 2 to 8 years old.

Under current conditions, only offering the needle-delivered flu vaccine results in 20.9 percent of children ages 2 to 8 getting the flu, compared with 23.5 percent if both the needle and nasal vaccine are offered.

However, if the LAIV effectiveness improves and can prevent flu in more than 63 percent of the people who get it, then it once again becomes beneficial to offer both forms of vaccination.

“Interestingly, there has been no decrease in LAIV effectiveness in other countries, and we’re still unsure why this is,” said ...

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Torna la Matefest-Infofest a l'Edifici Històric

Universitat de Barcelona - Notícies



































Aquest dimecres, 26 d’abril, arribar una nova edició de la Matefest-Infofest.











24/04/2017






Acadèmic






La festa està organitzada per alumnes de la Facultat de Matemàtiques i Informàtica de la Universitat de Barcelona Barcelona, 24 d’abril de 2017. L’Edifici Històric de la Universitat de Barcelona acull aquest dimecres, 26 d’abril, una nova edició de la Matefest-Infofest, una jornada divulgativa organitzada per alumnat de la Facultat de Matemàtiques i Informàtica de la Universitat de Barcelona amb la qual es vol apropar aquestes disciplines a tot tipus de públic, des d’estudiants de secundària fins a alumnes universitaris i públic general.







Com a novetat, enguany els alumnes de secundària podran participar per grups en una gimcana que recorrerà els diversos estands que ompliran el Pati de Ciències de l’Edifici Històric. Hi haurà un estand dedicat als programes de detecció de cares (face detection); un altre que permetrà conèixer què són els fractals, quin tipus d’estructura presenten i on es poden observar al nostre voltant; un per aprendre les tècniques bàsiques del hacking en un àmbit ètic; o un altre sobre l’aprenentatge automàtic (machine learning). Així mateix, els participants també podran aprendre a programar la seva pròpia app. El Museu de les Matemàtiques de Catalunya també disposarà d’un estand propi.
Entre les iniciatives dirigides a l’alumnat de secundària, hi ha també una nova edició del concurs de robòtica, en què participaran estudiants d’una quinzena d’instituts. Per preparar-se l’activitat, els estudiants han rebut al llarg de les últimes setmanes sessions de formació específiques impartides per professorat de la Facultat de Matemàtiques i Informàtica.Entre les activitats dirigides a alumnes de grau, destaca una hackató, que consisteix a desenvolupar un programari en un temps limitat. En aquest cas, ...

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S&T physicist improves particle interaction modeling

Missouri S&T News and Events


The cover of Dr. Jentschura’s new book on electrodynamics.Quantum electrodynamics is a lot like baking a cake, and then trying to take apart the individual ingredients. At least, that is what physicist Dr. Ulrich Jentschura equates to the process of creating an equation that can couple particles’ and antiparticles’ predicted masses at the same time.
“It is a little bit like trying to take an already baked cherry cake apart and separate its ingredients,” says Jentschura, a professor of physics at Missouri University of Science and Technology. “You can pick the cherries off the top, but you cannot separate the batter of egg, flour and sugar.”
With funding from the National Science Foundation, Jentschura and his research team are trying to “take apart” the Dirac equation, which describes particles and antiparticles simultaneously – antiparticles being the corresponding antimatter with the same mass and opposite charge of particles. The magic trick that takes the cake apart is a transformation devised by two other physicists, Foldy and Wouthuysen, in the 1950s. However, this trick had never been applied consistently to Dirac particles within the context of Einstein’s formulation of gravitation.
Taking the equation apart, Jentschura and his team were able to show that particles and corresponding antiparticles couple in just the same manner to gravitation – meaning that their inertial and gravitational masses are the same. Provided the Dirac equation holds, particles and antiparticles must have the same mass and the Einstein equivalence principle must hold for antimatter. This realization has fundamental consequences for antimatter experiments currently being done at physics laboratories around the world.
Jentschura and his team have previously studied quantum electrodynamic effects in atoms, and obtained theoretical predictions for energy levels in hydrogen and deuterium, for which Jentschura was elected a Fellow of the American Physical Society in 2013.
“Quantum electrodynamics provides much more insights than just quantum mechanics ...

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Students advocate for international education, explore history of democracy in Jefferson City

UMSL Daily

Jianyu Wang (at left), who is from China, and Animesh Panda (at right), from India, joined UMSL International Studies and Programs staff members for a trip to the Missouri State Capitol earlier this month. (Photos courtesy of Jennifer Amatya)
Animesh Panda has visited cities around the globe – in his home country of India, in New Zealand and now in the United States, where he is an exchange student at the University of Missouri–St. Louis this semester. Two weeks ago he checked one more destination off his list: Jefferson City, Missouri.
“I had been wanting to go there for a while, and International Education Day at the Capitol offered me the opportunity,” said Panda, who is pursuing his master’s degree in business administration from Auckland University of Technology. “Learning about the history of Missouri was an enriching experience, and witnessing the House of Representatives in action was another highlight of the day.”
He and fellow UMSL scholar Jianyu Wang were two of about 300 international students statewide who gathered in Missouri’s capital city April 11 to explore the region’s history and politics – and to send a message to lawmakers.
“It was a great way to teach international students about our political processes as well as a reminder to our legislature of the big impact that these students play in our local economy,” said Jennifer Amatya, who works in International Studies and Programs at UMSL and accompanied Panda and Wang on the trip alongside fellow staff member Gabriela Renteria-Poepsel.
The event was organized by Study Missouri, which advocates at the state level for the importance of study-abroad opportunities and for the recruitment of international students to Missouri.
International student adviser Jennifer Amatya (lower left) described the April 11 trip as “a great way to teach international students about our political processes and a reminder to our legislature of the big impact ...

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Seminar – Isabelle Sacramento Grilo

San Diego State University Department of Geological Sciences

GEOL 303 – Natural Disasters in Portugal: What can be more fun for Study Abroad?

Isabelle Sacramento GriloLecturer, SDSU
Wednesday, April 26, 2017CSL  422 – 1 pm
Description of course
Portugal was the site of the largest and one of the most destructive historical earthquake to hit western Europe. With it also came the largest tsunami waves to pummel the margins of the continents in this region in recent times, bringing the capital of commerce and far-away riches to its knees. Coastal erosion and collapse are prevalent in this country with about half of its shores facing the ocean. Lisbon, one of the most ancient cities in the world (about 3000 yo), still has people living in ancient masonry buildings and on active fault zones, many of which not known to the general populations. In the north Atlantic Azores islands we have active explosive and effusive volcanism, gigantic calderas, as well as active seismicity, which, coupled with severe weather, has produced deadly landslide events. We’ll be looking then at the tectonics of the mid-Atlantic ridge triple junction and adjacent Azores-Gibraltar fracture zone.
What better place to see tectonic-type natural hazards?
Structure of courseThis course, which students have made popular at SDSU, fulfills the SDSU General Education requirement IV EXPLORATIONS – Natural Sciences. This is a GE course option for all majors and would count as a Study Abroad requirement to those students who have that requirement in their major. It will correspond to the length of the SDSU first summer session. Proposed excursions will allow students to see the outcome of the geological principles that they’ve just learnt in the classroom. It will easily satisfy 45 contact hours. Roughly half of this summer session will be in the Azores islands and half will be in continental Portugal. This class will be like a lecture + lab, likely lectures in mornings and excursions in afternoon. They learn first the ...

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Why Are There Minds?

Arts and Sciences

Daniel Dennett has dedicated the last 50 years of his life to methodically stripping the magic, mystery and God from the world. Now the Austin B. Fletcher Professor of Philosophy is out to answer once and for all two questions that have been perplexing him—and others—for decades: How come there are minds? And how is it possible for minds to ask and answer this question?That’s the subject of his latest book, From Bacteria to Bach and Back: The Evolution of Minds (W.W. Norton), a dense opus drawing up the many disparate topics Dennett has debated for decades, bolstered with evidence from neuroscience, linguistics, natural history, technology—even chess and French literature.
“Over the years, I’ve encountered not just skepticism about the nature of mind, but a sort of antagonism—‘I don’t want to think about that, I don’t want to think that way,’” said Dennett, co-director of the Center for Cognitive Studies. “And so I’ve come up with various ways of cajoling, almost seducing people into turning things around in their heads. I’ve got a whole lot of pieces that fit together now, and the idea is to get people to see that.”
The dominant theme of the book will be a familiar one for the Dennett faithful. Beginning billions of years ago with non-living molecules floating in primordial soup, through to the evolution of modern man, Dennett argues a purely Darwinian trajectory. The world’s creatures are all a simple product of natural selection’s brute force trial-and-error approach, constructed one meager reproductive advantage atop another.
Most of the time, these creatures are ignorant as to what they do or why—“competence without comprehension.” The Australian cathedral termite, a favorite example of Dennett’s, builds elaborate structures that regulate temperature and gases in its underground colonies. But the termites don’ ...

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Over a thousand marched through Downtown Fullerton for nationwide March for Science

Daily Titan

Over a thousand people marched through Downtown Fullerton Saturday as part of the nationwide March For Science.
Marchers filled the grass lawn outside Fullerton’s City Hall at 9 a.m. to listen to guest speakers like head organizer Jeff Rosenblum, state Senator Josh Newman and Assembly member Sharon Quirk-Silva.
“We need you to stand with us and stand up together because it is not just science that is under attack. Education is under attack and women’s rights are under attack. We have a lot to stand up for, but it’s with you standing together with us that we’re going to be able to make those impacts,” Quirk-Silva said.
Newman said there is only a short window of time to address climate change.
“At current rates of burning fossil fuels in the span of a single, really bad presidential administration, we could put enough additional carbon in the atmosphere to eventually push us past the temperature limit and to a point of no return for our climate,” Newman said.
Quirk-Silva riled up the crowd by chanting, “Let’s make America smart again!” and explained that “we have work to do.”
After the speeches, the crowd marched toward Downtown Fullerton holding signs that read phrases like “Time to react!” and “Science matters!”
The march included scientists and supporters who hoped to “humanize science, advocate for open, inclusive, and accessible science, support scientists, and affirm science as a democratic value,” according to the March for Science mission and vision website.
“Science is for everybody, and we need to have people be aware, want to support and understand that it’s your livelihood,” said CSUF graduate student Brittany Poloni, a scientific aide with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife. “If we do not have clean water or clean air, a lot of our natural resources will decline and people will ...

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Doctor, Alumnus Keynotes NHS Undergraduate Research Conference

News Archive

APRIL 21, 2017 - A double Georgetown alumnus and physician leader told students at the 2017 Undergraduate Research Conference that their careers might take “unexpected” paths.
Rear Adm. Richard W. Childs (C’87, M’91), MD, an officer in the Commissioned Corps of the United States Public Health Service where he is assistant surgeon general, delivered the keynote address yesterday at the annual event, hosted by the Department of Human Science at the School of Nursing & Health Studies.
Childs – who is also the clinical director of the Division of Intramural Research at the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute – discussed his longtime research on kidney cancer and his clinical work in Liberia in 2014 to care for health providers who had been infected with the Ebola virus.
“When I was here as a Georgetown student as an undergrad and in medical school, my interest was primarily in clinical medicine,” he said, noting he could not have predicted his research career at the National Institutes of Health or his deployment to West Africa to help with the Ebola crisis. “You may all think that you kind of know where you are going. But I can tell you: unexpected things can happen.”
‘So Valuable’
The conference, which was founded in 2003 and celebrates undergraduate research and faculty mentorship at Georgetown and on other campuses, spotlights research posters and selected oral presentations. This year, 75 posters were featured from Georgetown, American, George Washington, Howard, James Madison, and Loyola Maryland universities.
Human science major Kayla Schmittau (NHS’17) presented one of those posters, which won a designation for excellence. It detailed her work on Huntington’s disease with mentor Karen E. Anderson, MD, who directs the Huntington Disease Care, Education and Research Center, a combined effort of Georgetown University Medical Center and MedStar Georgetown University Hospital.
Schmittau, who is planning a career in medicine, says the experience is allowing her to do clinical ...

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Howard Pinderhughes Inspires Community Healing in Last Lecture

UCSF - Latest News Feed

In Martin Luther King Jr.’s last book published before his assassination, he reflected on the civil rights movement and asked, “Where do we go from here? Chaos or community?”

That same question resonates today, said Howard Pinderhughes, PhD, during the 2017 UCSF Last Lecture, in which he highlighted the importance of community and social justice in tackling health care challenges.

Now in its sixth year, the UCSF Last Lecture has become an annual tradition in which a UCSF faculty member is nominated and selected by students to answer the question: “If you had but one lecture to give, what would you say?”

Like many who have delivered Last Lectures at UCSF, Pinderhughes outlined the trajectory of his own life and career – he is associate professor and chair of social and behavioral sciences in the School of Nursing – but traced the lines of influence back in time, to his slave ancestors, and outwards, to the communities around the world that have shaped him, from the middle-class Boston neighborhood in which he grew up, to Denmark, Cuba and the East Bay.

His talk covered the experiences that have led to his work studying the effects of violence on youth and their communities. And he urged the students in attendance to dream big and to think beyond healing individuals to transforming institutions in order to heal communities.

Informed by History

For Pinderhughes, seeing the historical records that listed his great-grandmother, who was a slave, along with cattle as property, made slavery less of an abstraction. “When you find your ancestors, the intergenerational trauma becomes real,” he said.

He also recalled how his grandfather Joe, who had dementia in his later years, seemed to say, repeatedly, “It’s a shame to leave a man without a coat.” It wasn’t until later that he understood his grandpa was saying, “It’s a shame to ...

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Isolating Their Target

Health – UConn Today


Researchers at UConn Health used stem cells derived from patients with Angelman syndrome to identify the underlying cellular defects that cause the rare neurogenetic disorder, an important step in the ongoing search for potential treatments for Angelman and a possible cure.
Up until now, scientists trying to understand why the brain cells of individuals with Angelman fail to develop properly have relied primarily on mouse models that mimic the disorder.
By using human stem cells that are genetically identical to the brain cells of Angelman syndrome patients, researchers now have a much clearer and more accurate picture of what is going wrong.
In a study appearing today in the journal Nature Communications, the researchers report that the brain cells of individuals with Angelman syndrome fail to properly mature, causing a cascade of other developmental deficits that result in Angelman syndrome.
“We looked at the electrical activity of these brain cells and their ability to form connections, which is critical to the working circuits in the brain,” says UConn Health neuroscientist Eric Levine, the study’s lead author.
“We found that the cells from Angelman patients had impairments,” says Levine. “They didn’t develop the same way as they do in people who don’t have the disorder. They failed to develop mature electrical activity and they didn’t form connections as readily.”
Dr. Nicole Kummer (foreground), Stormy Chamberlain (left), and Ivy Pin-Fang Chen work on finding answers for Angelman syndrome. (File Photo)Angelman syndrome appears in one out of every 15,000 live births. People with Angelman have developmental delays, are prone to seizures, and can have trouble walking or balancing. They have limited speech, but generally present a happy demeanor, frequently laughing and smiling.
The disorder occurs when a single gene that individuals inherit from their mother’s 15th chromosome is deleted or inactive. The paternal copy of that gene, known ...

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Panthers Drop CCSA Title Match to Florida State

FIU Athletics

Story Links

MIAMI (April 23, 2017) - The No. 10-ranked FIU beach volleyball team battled hard in rainy conditions, but came out on the short end in the championship match in the 2017 Coastal Collegiate Sports Association (CCSA) Beach Volleyball Championships on Sunday, at the Lakepoint Sporting Community Park in Emerson, Georgia. The Panthers (24-15) dropped a 3-0 decision to No. 4-ranked, and the top-seed, Florida State. In last night's semifinal match against the two seed, LSU, the Panthers pulled off an impressive comeback, taking down the Tigers in thrilling fashion (3-2). FIU looked to continue that momentum today in the championship match-up against the defending CCSA champion, Seminoles. Florida State took the lead, knocking out pairs five, three and two, respectively, in two sets each. On court five, FSU's Hailey Luke and Eva Torruella took down Anabela Sataric and Estefanie Bethancourt, 21-12, 21-5 in the first two-set match of the day. The No. 3 pair of Macy Jerger and her partner, Sierra Sanchez, defeated Helene Thelle and Natalia Giron, 21-19, 21-9. To secure the victory, Vanessa Freire and Victoria Paranagua defeated Katie Friesen and Taija Thomas, 21-16, 21-19 on court three.The tandem of Lina Bernier and Katie Hogan were named to the CCSA All-Tournament team, finishing the weekend with a 5-0 record with victories over South Carolina, Tulane, Florida State, UNCW and LSU.
 
Today was FIU's first appearance in the CCSA finals in program history. 
 Florida State def. FIU, 3-0
 
No. 1 Leigh Andrew/Brooke Kuhlman (FSU) vs. Margherita Bianchin/Federica Frasca (FIU) 21-17, 16-17
No. 2 Vanessa Freire/Victoria Paranagua (FSU) def. Katie Friesen/Taija Thomas (FIU) 21-16, 21-19
No. 3 Macy Jerger/Sierra Sanchez (FSU) def. Helene Thelle/Natalia Giron (FIU) 21-19, 21-9
No. 4 Katie Horton/Francesca Goncalves (FSU) vs. Lina Bernier/Katie Hogan (FIU) 21-15, 10-19
No. 5 Hailey Luke/Eva Torruella (FSU) Anabela Sataric/Estefanie Bethancourt (FIU) 21-12, 21-5
 Order of Finish: 5, 3, 2
 
#####  ...

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Dear LSU - A Letter from Ashleigh Gnat

LSUsports.net
Headline News





LSUsports.net (@LSUsports)LSU Sports Interactive



Written by senior gymnast, Ashleigh Gnat
Dear LSU,
As our 2017 season comes to an end and graduation is in sight, I am able to reflect on what an amazing four years I have had at this University. Being an LSU athlete has been the opportunity of a lifetime and I am so blessed to be a part of such an amazing athletics program.
From the moment I stepped on campus it was undeniable that this was a family. It’s a roaring sea of purple and gold, all in for every team. I remember my first time wearing those colors, running in to the PMAC as a wide-eyed freshman. And also my final time… a standing ovation next to my sisters who have been with me every step of the way. Every memory in that arena is one that I will cherish forever. Thank you, fans, for filling our arena and cheering on the Fighting Tigers as our program continues to grow.
I can honestly say that I would not be the person that I am without our coaches and our support staff. They have taught me the importance of excellence in the classroom, in the community, and on the competition floor. They pour their soul into making sure that our team is able to make the most of our student-athlete experience. I am humbled and honored to have been coached by such amazing people. Inside and outside of the gym we are a family and the relationships I have with each one of them I will have forever. Thank you to my teammates; when I arrived on campus with a group of strangers, you have so quickly become my sisters. I can’t thank you guys enough for the support, for endless hugs and high-fives, for the behind the scenes late night studying, ...

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Creating a digital cure for epilepsy

Rice University News & Media



A team of Rice engineering students recently took top honors and a $5,000 prize for its development of a potential digital cure for epilepsy.
Epilepsy is a neurological disorder characterized by unpredictable, recurrent seizures that can pose a risk to a patient’s safety. When undergoing a seizure, the brain is considered to be in an “ictal” state. Team Ictal Inhibitors‘ goal was to develop a neurostimulator that stimulates the brain to prevent the onset of seizures.
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To create the system, the team first needed to develop a seizure-prediction algorithm. The students created a machine-learning algorithm that was “very good” at predicting seizures: It predicted all seizures in their data set at least two minutes before their onset with 3.9 false positives per hour. The team then transferred this prediction algorithm to custom hardware that runs on patient data to predict seizures in real time.
“What our system is trying to do is predict and prevent seizures in real time,” said Sarah Hooper, a senior electrical engineering major. “The first stage of our system is to record neural activity from the brain. That activity is then sent to our piece of hardware, which has the algorithm that produces a seizure prediction. Using the electrical signals that are produced in the brain, we can predict if a seizure is going to occur in the next five minutes or so.”
Hooper said that if a seizure were about to occur, the hardware would then communicate back to electrodes implanted in the brain to apply electrical neurostimulation, which can actually stop the seizure before it occurs.

“Three years ago, the project was basically an idea,” said Erik Biegert, a senior who will graduate in May with an electrical engineering degree. “About one-third of the 3 million epilepsy patients in the United States don’t respond to anti-seizure medications. The only option left for those ...

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La UPC lidera un projecte europeu per fabricar, amb ultrasons i a escala industrial, teixits i dispositius antimicrobians

Actualitat UPC


Cada any, més de quatre milions de pacients adquireixen alguna infecció associada a estades hospitalàries, segons l’European Center for Disease Prevention and Control i l’Organització Mundial de la Salut. Les dades indiquen que l’impacte de les infeccions adquirides als hospitals ja ha generat un cost de set bilions d’euros i una mortalitat directa i indirecta de 137.000 pacients anuals. Davant d’aquesta realitat, la Unió Europea (UE), a través del programa de recerca Horizon 2020 (H2020), ha apostat per introduir al mercat la tècnica d’ultrasons amb efectes antimicrobians. I es durà a terme amb la construcció de tres màquines a escala industrial per a la producció de teixits sanitaris i d’ús per a àrees públiques, així com de dispositius mèdics i membranes per al tractament d’aigües amb propietats antimicrobianes. Es tracta d’un projecte pilot, anomenat PROTECT i coordinat per Tzanko Tzanov, investigador del grup de Biotecnologia Molecular i Industrial (GBMI) i professor de l’Escola Superior d’Enginyeries Industrial, Aeroespacial i Audiovisual de Terrassa (ESEIAAT) i de la Facultat d'Òptica i Optometria de Terrassa (FOOT), ambdues de la UPC al Campus de Terrassa. L’eficiència d’aquesta tecnologia per al recobriment de superfícies amb nanopartícules antimicrobianes ja va quedar demostrada prèviament en els projectes europeus SONO i NOVO, desenvolupats pel mateix consorci i coordinats també per Tzanko Tzanov. Aquest investigador de la UPC és expert en l’aplicació de nanobiotecnologies per obtenir materials que s’apliquen en biomedicina, com ara apòsits per cobrir ferides, catèters antimicrobians, kits de diagnòstic i nanoantibiòtics. De fet, ha invertit més de deu anys investigant sobre dispositius mèdics i noves metodologies per eliminar colònies microbianes reduint l’ús d’antibiòtics. Aquesta línia de recerca l’ha dut a col·laborar amb diferents empreses i ...

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Residents & Physicians at UC and UCMC Honored During National Doctors' Day

UC Health News

Residents and physicians at the University of Cincinnati and UC Medical Center were recognized Thursday, March 30, 2017, for their commitment to the medical profession as part of National Doctors’ Day activities. The Office of Graduate Medical Education honored five UC Medical Center/College of Medicine residents with the 2017 Graduate Medical Trainee Award of Excellence. The residents were honored at a special recognition breakfast and during surprise ceremonies held by each of their individual departments. Criteria for the award include professionalism, interpersonal skills, leadership, dedication to teaching and fostering innovation and quality improvement. This year’s resident awardees are:Steven Cogorno, MD, a third-year resident in the Department of Internal Medicine, is described by superiors as passionate, hardworking, team-oriented and gifted at computer sciences. Cogorno has contributed to various projects and committees including ones to further patient safety, lessen the risk of medication mistakes, advise on the use of EPIC computer system, and support the work of clinical laboratories. "Steve is an outstanding physician,” wrote one of his peers. "He is thorough, compassionate, and efficient. He is patient with his colleagues and consistently goes out of his way to help them. The skill that he possesses that stands out the most, however, is his tireless dedication to patient care. When others may find opportunity to cut corners, Steve remains dedicated, going well beyond the essential tasks to assure every patient receives the best care possible. He certainly raised the bar for everyone on our team and served as role model for all of us.”Natalie Kreitzer, MD, a third-year fellow in stroke and neuro-critical care and former resident at UC Medical Center’s Emergency Medicine Department, defined her interest in caring for and understanding brain-injured patients by securing a $5,000 resident research grant to study patients with traumatic brain injury. She also received a $25,000 grant in 2016 dedicated to patient outcomes from the UC ...

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Guest Attorney Helps Answer Your Immigration Questions

Lone Star College CyFair News

Published on: April 04, 2017
Join Immigration Attorney Uchenna Paul at Lone Star College-CyFairs Center for Civic Engagement (CCE)  lecture April 25 for answers to a myriad of immigration-related questions.

Drawing on 20 years of experience, this practicing immigration attorney here in the Houston will answer audience questions on visas, green cards, the process of becoming a citizen, deportation and other legal questions after her presentation.

This program is set from 1 p.m. 2 p.m. in the Technology Building room 101-102 on the LSC-CyFair campus at 9191 Barker Cypress.

Return to campus April 26 at 1 p.m. for some intimate and inspiring stories of cross-cultural encounters at the Faces of Immigration Student Experience Panel Discussion. Contact Professor Mayia Shulga at 281.290.3548 for information.

One of the CCEs goals is to get people thinking about actions they can take to address challenges in their immediate community and the broader society.

For information on the April 25 event, contact Professor Sharon Bippus via phone at 281.290.5938 or email Sharon.L.Bippus@LoneStar.edu. 








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Renowned Texas law professor to speak at Lone Star College-North Harris

Lone Star College North Harris News

Published on: September 11, 2015
The Lone Star College-North Harris Center for Diversity Studies will mark Constitution Day on September 17 by hosting a lecture with renowned law professor Dr. Martin L. Levy of Texas Southern Universitys Thurgood Marshall School of Law.
Dr. Levy will be speaking on a recent landmark case, Obergefell v. Hodges, 576 U.S. (2015) and non-enumerated Constitutional rights. In the Obergefell case, the United States Supreme Court held in a 5-4 decision that the fundamental right to marry is guaranteed to same-sex couples by both the Due Process Clause and the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
According to Dr. James Good, dean, Division of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Business and Economics at LSC-North Harris, It is an honor to have Dr. Levy help us mark Constitution Day by speaking about this case and its relevance. Not only is he highly regarded among his peers, he is also widely published and considered an expert in the field of Constitutional Law.
Constitution Day is an American federal observance that recognizes the adoption of the United States Constitution and those who have become U.S. citizens. It is normally observed on September 17, the day in 1787 that delegates to the Constitutional Convention signed the document in Philadelphia.The law establishing the present holiday was created in 2004, with the passage of an amendment by Senator Robert Byrd to the Omnibus spending bill of 2004.Before this law was enacted, the holiday was known as "Citizenship Day.  
Dr. Levy will be speaking from noon to 1 p.m. at LSC College-North Harris, Academic Building, Room A126. Faculty, staff, students and the community are invited to attend the free lecture.
The LSC-North Harris Center for Diversity Studies is focused on a guiding principle that diversity should be celebrated and studied as the mark of a healthy society and learning environment rather than ...

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UNC-Chapel Hill Celebrating Earth Week 2017

Campus Updates – The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Earth Week, April 17-22, is UNC-Chapel Hill’s annual celebration to demonstrate support for environmental protection and a time to look forward to continuing progress in sustainability at Carolina. Campus departments, student groups and other organizations are hosting an event-packed week. Students, faculty, staff and community members are invited to learn about sustainable initiatives on campus, attend talks, connect with our community-based food systems, shop at a farmer’s market, celebrate new campus gardens, and top it off with the annual Science Expo on Saturday.
Last fall Carolina launched the Three Zeros initiative that defines our ambitious goals to move the campus toward water neutrality, zero waste, and greenhouse gas neutrality. The University is a gold-level, charter participant in the AASHE STARS program, a national measurement of University progress toward a wide range of sustainability goals. The campus sustainability dashboard illustrates how our campus is performing in different areas across campus.
Earth Week Calendar
The Center for Sustainable Enterprise Hosts A Career with ImpactTuesday, April 18, 12:30 p.m., Koury AuditoriumFeaturing keynote speaker Rye Barcott ‘01, Managing Partner and Cofounder of Double Time Capital. Lunch will be provided. For more information, contact cse@unc.edu.
NSF Day at UNC-Chapel HillWednesday, April 19, 7:30 a.m. – 6 p.m., Rizzo Center, 150 DuBose Home Lane, Chapel HillThe National Science Foundation (NSF) and UNC-Chapel Hill host a day-long workshop to  provide background on the NSF and insight and instruction on how to compete for NSF funding for science, engineering and education research. NSF representatives will be on hand to answer questions and to host discipline- and program-specific breakout sessions to personally engage in discussions with attendees.
Environmental Humanities Luncheon with Ann and Bland SimpsonThursday, April 20, 12:30 p.m. – 1:30 p.m., 3202 Murray/Venable HallJoin UNC-Chapel Hill Kenan Distinguished Professor of English and Creative Writing and author Bland Simpson for a discussion, “Many Waters: Exploring Eastern North Carolina’s Sound Country.” RSVP ...

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Students selected as Phillips Ambassadors for study abroad in Asia in 2017

College of Arts & Sciences


Students were recently selected as Phillips Ambassadors for study abroad in Asia in summer and fall 2017. (photo by Steve Exum)
Eighteen undergraduates from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and one undergraduate from Duke University have been selected as Phillips Ambassadors for summer and fall 2017 study abroad programs in Asia. In addition, one history doctoral candidate was awarded a Phillips Graduate Ambassador travel award for research in India and Malaysia this summer.
Undergraduate scholarship recipients will study in China, Hong Kong, India, Japan, Singapore and South Korea.
The Phillips Ambassadors program is part of UNC’s Carolina Asia Center, in association with the Study Abroad Office. Phillips Ambassadors are selected twice a year and receive $5,000 each. Selection is based on strong communication skills, intellectual curiosity and engagement, academic achievement, evidence of generous service to the campus and wider community, and a previous record of leadership.
Twenty-five percent of the scholarships are reserved for qualified undergraduate business majors and minors at UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School. Up to two scholarships each year are available to qualified Duke University undergraduates.
Phillips Ambassadors choose from more than 50 academic programs in Asia that are approved by the College of Arts and Sciences and UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School. Scholarship recipients enroll in a three-credit hour global studies course designed uniquely for them. Led by Carolina faculty, the course challenges students to explore their study abroad locale in significant detail and seek understanding of the region in a global context.
A distinguishing feature of the program is an emphasis on what is called a “Give Back,” or sharing of one’s study abroad experience in Asia with the Carolina community and the student’s hometown. In accepting the scholarship, students agree to fulfill a Give Back related to their study abroad experience. Give Backs include endeavors such as published articles, classroom presentations at a student’ ...

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Should Californians give more money for stem cell research?

Newsroom: InTheNews

Publication Date: 4/19/2017
ByLine: San Diego Union Tribune
URL Link: http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/business/biotech/sd-me-stem-status-20170419-story.html
Page Content: ​Features Larry Goldstein, PhD, Catriona Jamieson, MD, PhD, and Jennifer Braswell, PhD
News Type: Regional
News_Release_Date: April 21, 2017
NewsTags: Cancer; Hematology (Blood Diseases); Research/Clinical Trials; Stem Cells; UC San Diego Health Sciences

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UI students help public interpret DNA ancestry tests

Iowa Now - Research

Last fall, Hannah Ericson decided she wanted to learn more about herself and her family.So, the first-year University of Iowa student, who’s majoring in biology, decided to use a commercial DNA test that would trace her family’s ancestry and offer some insight—albeit coarse—into her genetic identity.

She was surprised by what she found out: The test revealed that she had a more pronounced Iberian identity—along with a splash of Italian heritage—“that my family had no oral history of,” she says.

Now, she’s further exploring the branches of her family tree. “The tests made me appreciate how many factors had to come together to make me who I am,” Ericson says.

Ericson and other UI students are helping the public better understand their ancestry and their DNA. The students, under the supervision of faculty adviser Bryant McAllister, participate in monthly meetings to educate those in the community interested in ordering a DNA test or interpreting results.

“You should know what you’re purchasing,” says McAllister, associate professor in the UI Department of Biology, who formed the Personal Genome Learning Center in the spring of 2016. “It’s good consumer practice to do the research knowing what you want to find out and making sure what you purchase is a good match.”

The next session, on April 25, will coincide with National DNA Day. Organizers have scheduled a host of activities, from one-on-one educational sessions for the public to hosting a guest talk by Charles “Chip” Aquadro, director of the Center for Comparative and Population Genomics at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York.

The events will take place from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. at the Iowa City Public Library, 123 N. Linn St.

A separate group, led by the Iowa Institute of Human Genetics and UI Health Care, will celebrate National DNA Day by sponsoring a ...

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Behind the Iron Curtain: How Methane-Making Microbes Kept the Early Earth Warm

Science and Technology

Earth and Environment

Behind the Iron Curtain: How Methane-Making Microbes Kept the Early Earth Warm






By
John Toon | April 17, 2017
• Atlanta, GA








Click image to enlarge

Marcus Bray (left), a biology Ph.D. candidate and Jennifer Glass, assistant professor in the Georgia Institute of Technology’s School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, are shown in the laboratory where tiny incubators simulated early Earth conditions. (Credit: Rob Felt, Georgia Tech)





For much of its first two billion years, Earth was a very different place: oxygen was scarce, microbial life ruled, and the sun was significantly dimmer than it is today. Yet the rock record shows that vast seas covered much of the early Earth under the faint young sun. 

Scientists have long debated what kept those seas from freezing. A popular theory is that potent gases such as methane – with many times more warming power than carbon dioxide – created a thicker greenhouse atmosphere than required to keep water liquid today.

In the absence of oxygen, iron built up in ancient oceans. Under the right chemical and biological processes, this iron rusted out of seawater and cycled many times through a complex loop, or “ferrous wheel.” Some microbes could “breathe” this rust in order to outcompete others, such as those that made methane. When rust was plentiful, an “iron curtain” may have suppressed methane emissions.

“The ancestors of modern methane-making and rust-breathing microbes may have long battled for dominance in habitats largely governed by iron chemistry,” said Marcus Bray, a biology Ph.D. candidate in the laboratory of Jennifer Glass, assistant professor in the Georgia Institute of Technology’s School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences and principal investigator of the study funded by NASA’s Exobiology and Evolutionary Biology Program. The research was reported in the journal Geobiology on April 17, 2017.

Using mud pulled from the bottom of a tropical lake, researchers at Georgia ...

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Track & Field Posts Season Bests At Highlander Challenge

gohighlanders.com


Riverside—With the Big West Conference Track & Field Championships just a few weeks away, the Highlanders hosted Cal Poly Pomona and Cal State Los Angeles, along with a handful of unattached athletes in a single-day meet Saturday.Zach Lewis posted his top mark of the season in the 400m Hurdles with a time of 52.29. That was .22 seconds off his all-time best mark of 52.07 set in 2015.Silviu Bocancea continued his dominance of the Hammer Throw this year, winning the event with a top mark of 62.28m (205' 8"). He also finished second in the discus (49.20m, 161' 5"), and seventh in the Shot Put clearing (13.21m, 43' 4.25").On the Women's Side, Tayler Fleming won both the Long Jump (6.27m, 20' 7.00") and High Jump (1.60m, 5' 3.00"). Her Long Jump mark was just 4.75 inches off her UC Riverside record of 20' 11.75".Taylor Brown won the 400m finishing in 56.61, which is her best mark of the year, and she ran the lead leg of the Highlanders' 4x400m Relay Team, which won the event with a time of 3:57.56. 
MEN'S EVENTS


100m


Sean Williams
7th
11.02
Jason Lu
15th
11.43






200m


Matthew Reyes
15th
23.10
Christopher Capotosto
20th
23.94
   


400m


Justin Parker
2nd
47.70
Carlos Wedlow
11th
52.54



800m


Ethan Van Setten
2nd
1:54.48
Solomon Demeku-Ousman
3rd
1:54.48
Jurrell Davis
6th
1:55.68
Andres Delgado
14th
2:03.19
Mathew Sam
17th
2:13/60



1,500m


Brandon Shields
6th
4:08.22
Jason Spatter
9th
4:10.28
Andres Delgado
10th
4:12.69
Chapin Levin-Arbuthnot
14th
4:21.16



  


3,000m


Arman Irani
2nd
9:11.21
Jack Frimodig
5th
9:21.24
Gary Maxwell
6th
9:45.11
   


3,000m Steeplechase





5,000m





110m Hurdles


Peter Manu
2nd
14.45
Nick Abboud
4th
14.88
Christopher Capotosto
7th
15.93



400m Hurdles


Zach Lewis
3rd
52.29
Jarrade Davis
4th
54.23
Jacob Porter
6th
56.06



Long Jump


Michael Harris
1st
7.22m (23' 8.25")
Craig Mauldin
2nd
7.01m (23' 0.0")






Triple Jump


Craig Mauldin
1st
15.17m (49' 9.25")
Michael Harris
2nd
14.96m (49' 1.00")



High Jump





Pole Vault


George Goodwin
2nd
4.50m (14' 9.00")
Aidan Olvera
4th
4.20m (13' 9.25")



Shot Put


Carl Nahigian
1st
18.45m (60' 6.50")
Wes Braddock
2nd
17.03m (55' 10.50")
...

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Campus Invited to Baseball Game on Newly Renovated Field

Caltech News tagged with "staff + student_life + faculty_profile + grants_and_giving"


To celebrate the completion of the North Field renovation, Caltech and the Department of Athletics, Physical Education and Recreation invite the campus community to the April 14 baseball game against Whittier College, which will begin with a ceremonial first pitch on the new field. The pitch, at 3 p.m., will precede the Orange Out game, which will be played on the new state-of-the-art artificial turf, which is designed to provide a consistent playing surface and reduce campus water use. The high-quality turf also includes a subsurface cork layer that keeps the field playable on hot days.The new field, the product of an eight-month renovation project, features a regulation college soccer field and baseball diamond, upon which the intercollegiate baseball, men's soccer and new women's soccer programs can compete, in addition to club and intramural sports. 

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JPL News: Earth-Sized 'Tatooine' Planets Could Be Habitable

Caltech News tagged with "astronomy + exoplanets + JPL + planetary_science"


With two suns in its sky, Luke Skywalker's home planet Tatooine in Star Wars looks like a parched, sandy desert world. In real life, thanks to observatories such as NASA's Kepler space telescope, we know that two-star systems can indeed support planets, although planets discovered so far around double-star systems are large and gaseous. Scientists wondered: If an Earth-size planet were orbiting two suns, could it support life?Read the full story from JPL News

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Gauchos Win Yet Another Close One, Defeat LBSU 4-3 in Rubber Match

Santa Barbara Athletics News


Apr 23, 2017





LONG BEACH, Calif. – After trailing 2-0 early in Sunday's rubber match at Long Beach State (20-22-1, 8-4), UCSB (27-21, 7-5) came back to score four of the final five runs of the day, taking a 4-3 victory and winning its third consecutive conference series. Redshirt freshman Whitney Pemberton scored the winning run on a 49er error in the top of the eighth, improving UCSB's record to a perfect 6-0 in extra innings games and 16-4 in games decided two runs or less.
The win brings the Gauchos within one game of second-place Long Beach in the Big West standings. Since being defeated in two of three games by Cal Poly in the conference-opening series, UCSB has taken 2-1 wins in three consecutive series.
Senior Kristen Clark led the way with two hits as the Gauchos took an 8-5 advantage in hits. With six hits in four games this week, Clark has increased her career total to 283, good for the second-highest mark in Big West history.
Three different Gauchos recorded an RBI for the day, including Pemberton, freshman Alyssa Diaz and junior Jessica Johnston.
Long Beach junior Jessica Flores opened the scoring with a two-run homer in the bottom of the first, but UCSB was quick to respond, as Diaz answered with her third home run of the season to cut LBSU's lead to 2-1. The 49ers would double their lead in the bottom of the second, scoring an unearned run following a Gaucho fielding error.
In the top of the third, with senior Jacqueline Hinojosa on third base, Johnston knocked a sac fly to center field, once again bringing UCSB within one run at 3-2.
The Gauchos would then equalize in the top of the fifth. After getting on base with a single to shortstop, Clark would make it to third after a Long Beach error and a ...

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A Practical Approach to Conservation

All News @ UCSB

Is conservation good for your health? Seems like a no-brainer, right?Not so much, according to a group of scientists who have collaborated on a new research volume that explores what turns out to be a very tough question.
UC Santa Barbara ecologists teamed up with colleagues at Duke University and the University of Washington to present various perspectives on the subject for the journal Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B. Their special issue, “Conservation, Biodiversity, and Infectious Disease,” is a combination of theoretical work and case studies, all of which embrace a systems approach to infectious disease ecology.
“I’m a firm believer that insights from ecology can help us manage disease and protect species,” said co-editor Kevin Lafferty, a senior ecologist with the U.S. Geological Survey and a principal investigator at UCSB’s Marine Science Institute. “But ecological systems are too complicated to expect one-size-fits-all solutions.”
The biodiversity-disease relationship often has been framed as a simple synergy between conservation action and improved human health, yet the links between habitat disturbance and other factors that affect disease risk are complex. The editors sought authors from diverse perspectives and backgrounds to investigate how economics, climate change and biodiversity change affect infectious diseases.
“What’s really unique about this issue is that we have gone all the way from theory articles that look at how biodiversity changes might affect disease to multiple field studies of various conservation interventions at different scales to an examination of the global drivers of biodiversity change,” said lead editor Hillary Young, an assistant professor in UCSB’s Department of Ecology, Evolution and Marine Biology (EEMB). “We wanted to present cases for viable and useful public health interventions.”
Take schistosomiasis, a parasitic disease carried by fresh water snails. Found predominantly in tropical and subtropical climates, schistosomiasis infects 240 million people in as many as 78 countries, with ...

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Women’s tennis claims SEC Tournament title

Vanderbilt News



Apr. 24, 2017, 7:53 AM





Two seasons ago, the Vanderbilt women’s tennis team won its first Southeastern Conference championship. On Sunday the Commodores returned to the pinnacle of SEC tennis in dramatic fashion.
KEEP READING »






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Megan Morris: What experience at SDSU has changed your life the most?

SDSU College of Sciences


This Aztec is a Ph.D. student in the joint doctoral program in ecology.


Name: Megan MorrisMajor: Ph.D. student in the joint doctoral program in ecologyCampus affiliations: Graduate Student Association, Marine Ecology Biology Student Association, Delta Epsilon Iota Academic Honor Society 1. Why did you choose to attend San Diego State University?I’m currently a Ph.D. student, but I also attended SDSU for my undergraduate studies. When I was applying to college as a high school senior, I thought I wanted to become a nurse practitioner, so I targeted universities with nationally-ranked nursing programs. Of all the universities I was accepted to, I knew that SDSU was my top choice just by my reaction and excitement when I opened my acceptance letter.2. What inspired you to apply for the joint doctoral program in ecology?It’s so hard to pick one defining moment that motivated me to pursue a Ph.D. in ecology, but I think it resulted from the culmination of many experiences. From taking a wide array of classes and working as a research assistant in a few different labs during my undergraduate career, I discovered along the way that I had a passion for ecology.3. What is the best piece of advice you ever received?I’m such a perfectionist and strive for an unreasonable level of excellence in every aspect of my studies. From a young age, my mom has told me that sometimes getting an ‘A’ is not the most important accomplishment. What I think she was trying to convey is that sometimes, allocating time and energy into other experiences can be far more rewarding in the big picture. 4. Which SDSU faculty or staff member has been the most influential throughout your SDSU journey?My current advisor, Elizabeth Dinsdale, has been incredibly influential to my academic and research success at SDSU. During the ...

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HR Information Now on AccessTufts

Tufts Now All Stories

AccessTufts is the new online home for all information for staff and faculty managed by Human Resources.The enhanced AccessTufts went live on April 18 at the same time Human Resources launched a new homepage tailored for potential employees and faculty—and with links to AccessTufts.
Julien Carter, vice president of human resources, said his department has migrated more than 100 pages of content to AccessTufts, which centralized tools and resources for university administrative tasks when it launched in January.
Now, under the site’s “Get Work Done” tab, faculty and staff will find an array of information on topics including commuter benefits, tuition reimbursement, health plans, family benefits, pet insurance, resources for managers and employees who want to advance their careers, and retirement investment fund options. People going through life events such as getting married, having or adopting a child, dealing with illness or injury, or getting ready for retirement can find comprehensive information on available resources under the “Life & Career Changes” tab.
“We’ve taken this opportunity to complete a total refresh and rethinking of how we present information,” said Carter. “Faculty and staff will now be able to get more complete answers. If you’re anticipating maternity leave, for example, we will give you everything you need beyond the leave itself—from how to find day care, utilize flexible spending and learn more about health insurance.”
This more comprehensive approach, he said, will help clarify the benefits that Tufts offers staff and faculty. “Tufts has great benefits—it’s a progressive employer—but we needed to do a better job of helping people understand them,” Carter said. “Our challenge was how to take all this good information out of the shadows and help people take full advantage of all Tufts offers.”
Those involved in the development of AccessTufts will continue to “map the way users think about content,” said ...

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Fulbright Scholarship Overview & Application Process

Events at UCF

Discover the world on a Fulbright Scholarship!
Join the Office of Prestigious Awards Director, Morgan Bauer, for lunch to learn about the Fulbright Program and ask questions about this incredible opportunity to get fully funded to live abroad for an academic year to conduct research, pursue graduate study, or teach English.
http://us.fulbrightonline.org/ 
*All sessions are held in BHC 130 from 12-1. Lunch is provided.
Email opa@ucf.edu to RSVP

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Draft sustainability plan open for feedback

Student News

Awareness about sustainability is at an all time high, and at UC Santa Cruz we’re at a critical juncture for how we further our commitment to this principle.I’m excited to share a draft of our next Campus Sustainability Plan (CSP), which helps to chart a course into 2022. The plan is the result of hard work from several committees made up of folks from all over campus who have spent this academic year looking at how we can advance sustainability in every part of our university.
Now, you have the opportunity to contribute your thoughts.
Tell us what you think about our goals, our strategies, and what we should tackle in the first year.
While the campus made significant progress in the sustainability of its operations in the previous plan, the planning committees have expanded the scope of this new plan. The plan focuses on four areas: Learning & Culture, Materials Management & Food Systems, Natural Environment & Infrastructure, and Climate & Energy. Goals, strategies, and first-year actions are under consideration within these four topics that acknowledge the intersectional nature of environmental and social issues, build on the strength of existing policies and programs, enhance ties between operations and academics, and connect social justice issues on campus and in our local community.
The plan aims to tackle many difficult questions. How will Banana Slugs achieve UC Office of the President’s goal of Carbon Neutrality by 2025? How can the campus enhance experiential learning opportunities for students in sustainability? What resources does the campus need in the next three years in order to reach Zero Waste by 2020? What does a campus practicing socially just, inclusive sustainability look like? Interested in learning more? Visit the Sustainability Office website to provide your input.
The campus community comment period will be open through April 30, 2017.

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UW Daily – April 18, 2017

UW Daily

UW System
On Campus
COL: UW Colleges fees support campus life, Column, Wausau Daily Herald, April 17
COL: Campus Community Players to present ‘Rest’ April 20-23, Hub City Times, April 17
EXT: Teaching kids about agriculture now more important than ever, WTMJ, April 17
EXT: Extension officials field county questions, Portage Daily Register, April 17
EXT: UW-Extension Farm Management Seminar Planned for May 5, Wisconsin Ag Connection, April 18
EXT/MAD: At the heart of local startups, UW-Madison ideas prevail, Daily Cardinal, April 17
EXT/LAX: Bunker Labs Wisconsin: To host first Muster Across Wisconsin event in La Crosse, WisBusiness, April 17
GRB: Budget reduction delays college registration, WTOL, April 17
LAX: Collegians to discuss race at community conversation, La Crosse Tribune, April 17
LAX: Long journey leads Oliver Vasanoja to UW-La Crosse football field, La Crosse Tribune, April 15
LAX: UW-La Crosse stages classic spoof of high society, La Crosse Tribune, April 17
LAX: UW-L students, community benefiting from hands-on approach, WIZM, April 17
LAX/STO: Hmong students protest university’s handling of heritage language course (UW-La Crosse wants to offer class via distance learning at UW-Stout), La Crosse Tribune, April 18
MAD: Student killed in Park Street crash was walking on sidewalk; driver likely faces homicide charge, Wisconsin State Journal, April 18
MAD: Driver of SUV that struck and killed UW grad student from Beijing suspected of being intoxicated, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, April 17
MAD: University of Wisconsin student from Beijing fatally struck, AP, April 17
MAD: UW Madison family mourning the loss of graduate student, WKOW, April 17
MAD: Man seen with a knife on UW-Madison campus, believed to have left area, police say, Wisconsin State Journal, April 17
MAD: “All-clear” given after UW-Madison knife report, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, April 17
MAD: Teaching science by asking, ‘What do you want to know’ and ‘How can you answer that?’ Wisconsin State Journal, April 17
MAD: Transcript: The Daily Cardinal sits down with Chancellor Rebecca Blank, Daily Cardinal, April 17
MAD: ...

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