Franciscan University Drops Entire Student Health Insurance Plan ...

via Laura Bassett, The Huffington Post

Franciscan University of Steubenville, a Catholic institution in Ohio, has decided to drop its entire student health insurance plan as of the fall semester 2012 because of the new federal rule requiring contraception coverage under most employee and student health policies. While a number of religious colleges have filed lawsuits over the birth control requirement, Franciscan is the first to get rid of its student health plan.

?The Obama Administration has mandated that all health insurance plans must cover ?women?s health services? including contraception, sterilization, and abortion-causing medications as part of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA),? the school announced on its website. ?Up to this time, Franciscan University has specifically excluded these services and products from its student health insurance policy, and we will not participate in a plan that requires us to violate the consistent teachings of the Catholic Church on the sacredness of human life.?

Therefore, the statement continued, the university will no longer offer student health insurance, require that all full-time undergrads have health insurance, or bill those students not covered under another plan for health insurance. The current plan expires on Aug. 15, 2012.

The announcement is somewhat misleading. Under the new rule, Franciscan University would not have to pay for any student?s contraception. The administration carved out an exemption for religious organizations, including Catholic schools, that would require the insurance company itself to pay for the insured?s birth control coverage ?directly and separately.? Nonprofit schools that don?t currently cover birth control can also qualify for a one-year transition period to comply with the new requirement.

Further, the birth control mandate does not include any ?abortion-causing medications.? Rather, it includes emergency contraception, which prevents pregnancy. But the U.S. Catholic bishops have frequently and publicly objected to the contraception coverage requirement based on the claim that it includes ?abortifacients.?

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Vaccine-associated sarcoma in cats. | *A blog for Pets*

VAS was first recognized at the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine in 1991. An association between highly aggressive fibrosarcomas and typical vaccine location (between the shoulder blades) was made.
Two possible factors for the increase of VAS at this time were the introduction in 1985 of vaccines for rabies and feline leukemia virus (FeLV) that contained aluminum adjuvant, and a law in 1987 requiring rabies vaccination in cats in Pennsylvania.

In 1993, a causal relationship between VAS and administration of aluminum adjuvanted rabies and FeLV vaccines was established through epidemiologic methods, and in 1996 the Vaccine-Associated Feline Sarcoma Task Force was formed to address the problem.

In 2003, a study of ferret fibrosarcomas indicated that this species also may develop VAS. Several of the tumors were located in common injection sites and had similar histologic features to VAS in cats.

Also in 2003, a study in Italy compared fibrosarcomas in dogs from injection sites and non-injection sites to VAS in cats, and found distinct similarities between the injection site tumors in dogs and VAS in cats. This suggests that VAS may occur in dogs.
Cats vaccination.
A vaccine-associated sarcoma (VAS) is a type of malignant tumor found in cats (and rarely, dogs and ferrets) that has been linked to certain vaccines.

VAS has become a concern for veterinarians and cat owners alike and has resulted in changes in recommended vaccine protocols. These tumors have been most commonly associated with rabies and feline leukemia virus vaccines, but other vaccines and injected medications have also been implicated.


Inflammation in the subcutis following vaccination is considered to be a risk factor in the development of VAS, and vaccines containing aluminum were found to produce more inflammation.

Furthermore, particles of aluminum adjuvant have been discovered in tumor macrophages. The incidence of VAS is between 1 in 1000 to 1 in 10000 vaccinated cats and has been found to be dose-dependent.

The time from vaccination to tumor formation varies from three months to eleven years. Fibrosarcoma is the most common VAS; other types include rhabdomyosarcoma, myxosarcoma, chondrosarcoma, malignant fibrous histiocytoma, and undifferentiated sarcoma.

Similar examples of sarcomas developing secondary to inflammation include tumors associated with metallic implants and foreign body material in humans, and sarcomas of the esophagus associated with Spirocerca lupi infection in dogs and ocular sarcomas in cats following trauma.

Cats may be the predominant species to develop VAS because they have an increased susceptibility to oxidative injury, as evidenced also by an increased risk of Heinz body anemia and acetaminophen toxicity.
VAS appears as a rapidly growing firm mass in and under the skin.


The mass is often quite large when first detected and can become ulcerated or infected. It often contains fluid-filled cavities, probably due to its rapid growth.

Diagnosis of VAS is through a biopsy. The biopsy will show the presence of a sarcoma, but information like location and the presence of inflammation or necrosis will increase the suspicion of VAS.

It is possible for cats to have a granuloma form after vaccination, so it is important to differentiate between the two before radical surgery is performed. One guideline for biopsy is if a growth is present three months after surgery, if a growth is greater than two centimeters, or if a growth is becoming larger one month after vaccination.

X-rays are taken prior to surgery because about one in five cases of VAS will develop metastasis, usually to the lungs but possibly to the lymph nodes or skin.

Treatment of VAS is through aggressive surgery. As soon as the tumor is recognized, it should be removed with very wide margins to ensure complete removal.

Treatment may also include chemotherapy or radiation therapy. The most significant prognostic factor is initial surgical treatment. One study showed that cats with radical (extensive) initial surgery had a median time to recurrence of 325 days versus 79 days for cats with marginal initial excision.
Cat breeds
The expression of a mutated form of p53, a tumor suppressor gene, is found commonly in VAS and indicates a poorer prognosis.

New vaccine protocols have been put forth by the American Association of Feline Practitioners that limit type and frequency of vaccinations given to cats. Specifically, the vaccine for feline leukemia virus should only be given to kittens and high risk cats.

Feline Rhinotracheitis/Panleukopenia/Calicivirus vaccines should be given every 3 years. Non-adjuvanted Rabies vaccine (given yearly) is preferred to administration of adjuvanted 3 year Rabies vaccine products. Also, vaccines should be given in areas making removal of VAS easier.

?There have been no specific associations between development of VAS and vaccine brand or manufacturer, concurrent infections, history of trauma, or environment.
source :? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vaccine-associated_sarcoma

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Florida Realtors President Summer Greene ... - Miami Agent Magazine

Home ? Local News

22 May 2012 No Comment


Marisa DiLenge (Better Homes and Gardens), Judith Church Baker (Coldwell Banker Residential), Steve Roberge (Coldwell Banker Residential), and Mike Kimmey (Tropical Realty Group)

The Broward Chapter of the Master Brokers Forum, MBF, an organization comprised of South Florida?s top residential real estate agents, recently presented a market report for its members at WCI Communities? Heron Bay, in Parkland.? More than 65 Master Brokers and guests attended the event in Heron?s Bay?s 23,000 sq ft clubhouse, ?Plaza del Lago.?

WCI?s vice president, Lou Paratore, welcomed the guest to Heron Bay.? Paratore introduced the country club community?s Somerset and Sawgrass Bay neighborhoods, as well as the company?s incentive programs for agents.

Summer Greene, Florida Realtor president and regional manager of Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate in Ft. Lauderdale, led a special presentation entitled ?UPSWING!: Great News about 2012 and Beyond.? Greene offered a compressive look at recent statewide increases in sales and home prices; the value-added benefits reaped by Florida Realtors members; the group?s critical advocacy and legislative initiatives; and the positives effects that every home sale produces for the U.S. economy.

Greene is also the former president, ?Realtor of the Year? for the Realtor Association of Greater Ft. Lauderdale and a director of the National Association of Realtors.? Additionally, Greene is a Master Broker and an honorary member of its advisory board.

?We are proud and honored to have Summer Greene representing the profession here in Florida,? said Carolyn Block Ellert, chair of the Broward MBF. ?Our thanks to her and to WCI Communities and Heron Bay for making us feel so welcome, and for their tremendous support of the entire broker community.?

?

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Squishy Buns ? My Favorite Writing Tool ? Speaking from the Heart

Question
What do Barnes & Noble, the public library, and coffee shops like Starbuck?s, Caribou, and Conscious Cup all have in common?


Answer
The?Goldilocks Syndrome?Papa Bear?s?hard?wooden chairs!

When writing, I sit for extended periods of time. This can result in painful bunuelos?not the tasty Mexican fritters; we?re talking sore butt cheeks!

I love my?squishy buns. This ergonomically designed chair-topper feels like thick, gel-filled neoprene. The crease where it folds for easy storage in my backpack has a center-relieved groove that eliminates pressure on the tailbone?ahhh?making it comfortable to?sit for hours on end?(pun intended).

When our mind isn?t focused on sore buns, it?s free to court creative thoughts and original ideas and spin them into gold.

What?s your favorite writing tool?

If you enjoyed this post, you might also like A Chair for your?Derri?re? Take a Stand!

Listen with your heart,

Laurie Buchanan

?Whatever you are not changing, you are choosing.?
? Laurie Buchanan

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? 2012 Laurie Buchanan? All Rights Reserved

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Cloak of invisibility: Engineers use plasmonics to create an invisible photodetector

ScienceDaily (May 21, 2012) ? It may not be intuitive, but a coating of reflective metal can actually make something less visible, engineers at Stanford and UPenn have shown. They have created an invisible, light-detecting device that can "see without being seen."

At the heart of the device are silicon nanowires covered by a thin cap of gold. By adjusting the ratio of metal to silicon -- a technique the engineers refer to as tuning the geometries -- they capitalize on favorable nanoscale physics in which the reflected light from the two materials cancel each other to make the device invisible.

Pengyu Fan is the lead author of a paper demonstrating the new device published online May 20th in the journal Nature Photonics. He is a doctoral candidate in materials science and engineering at Stanford University working in Professor Mark Brongersma's group. Brongersma is senior author of the study.

Cloak of invisiblity

Light detection is well known and relatively simple. Silicon generates electrical current when illuminated and is common in solar panels and light sensors today. The Stanford device, however, is a departure in that for the first time it uses a relatively new concept known as plasmonic cloaking to render the device invisible.

The field of plasmonics studies how light interacts with metal nanostructures and induces tiny oscillating electrical currents along the surfaces of the metal and the semiconductor. These currents, in turn, produce scattered light waves.

By carefully designing their device -- by tuning the geometries -- the engineers have created a plasmonic cloak in which the scattered light from the metal and semiconductor cancel each other perfectly through a phenomenon known as destructive interference.

The rippling light waves in the metal and semiconductor create a separation of positive and negative charges in the materials -- a dipole moment, in technical terms. The key is to create a dipole in the gold that is equal in strength but opposite in sign to the dipole in the silicon. When equally strong positive and negative dipoles meet, they cancel each other and the system becomes invisible.

"We found that a carefully engineered gold shell dramatically alters the optical response of the silicon nanowire," said Fan. "Light absorption in the wire drops slightly -- by a factor of just four -- but the scattering of light drops by 100 times due to the cloaking effect, becoming invisible."

"It seems counterintuitive," said Brongersma, "but you can cover a semiconductor with metal -- even one as reflective as gold -- and still have the light get through to the silicon. As we show, the metal not only allows the light to reach the silicon where we can detect the current generated, but it makes the wire invisible, too."

Broadly effective

The engineers have shown that plasmonic cloaking is effective across much of the visible spectrum of light and that the effect works regardless of the angle of incoming light or the shape and placement of the metal-covered nanowires in the device. They likewise demonstrate that other metals commonly used in computer chips, like aluminum and copper, work just as well as gold.

To produce invisibility, what matters above all is the tuning of metal and semiconductor.

"If the dipoles do not align properly, the cloaking effect is lessened, or even lost," said Fan. "Having the right amount of materials at the nanoscale, therefore, is key to producing the greatest degree of cloaking."

In the future, the engineers foresee application for such tunable, metal-semiconductor devices in many relevant areas, including solar cells, sensors, solid-state lighting, chip-scale lasers, and more.

In digital cameras and advanced imaging systems, for instance, plasmonically cloaked pixels might reduce the disruptive cross-talk between neighboring pixels that produces blur. It could therefore lead to sharper, more accurate photos and medical images.

"We can even imagine reengineering existing opto-electronic devices to incorporate valuable new functions and to achieve sensor densities not possible today," concluded Brongersma. "There are many emerging opportunities for these photonic building blocks."

Brongersma lab alumnus Professor Linyou Cao and doctoral candidate Farzaneh Afshinmanesh contributed to this research. This work is a collaboration with Professor Nader Engheta and post-doctoral researcher Uday Chettiar from University of Pennsylvania.

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Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Stanford School of Engineering. The original article was written by Andrew Myers.

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


Journal Reference:

  1. Pengyu Fan, Uday K. Chettiar, Linyou Cao, Farzaneh Afshinmanesh, Nader Engheta, Mark L. Brongersma. An invisible metal?semiconductor photodetector. Nature Photonics, 2012; DOI: 10.1038/nphoton.2012.108

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.

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UK steps closer to renewing nuclear firepower

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain moved a step closer to renewing its Trident nuclear weapons system on Tuesday, awarding 350 million pounds worth of contracts to design a new generation of submarines that critics say are the result of outdated, Cold War thinking.

The Successor class submarine would be used to replace the four Vanguard class vessels currently carrying Britain's Trident nuclear missiles, but a debate has raged about whether like-for-like renewal at an estimated cost of up to 20 billion pounds ($31.5 billion) is necessary.

The ruling Conservative Party is pushing for Britain's nuclear capability to be maintained, but their Liberal Democrat junior partners in coalition government are pushing for alternatives, with some arguing that current capability - the ability to obliterate Moscow - is a hangover from the Cold War.

The decision to award Successor design contracts to defence firms BAE Systems, Babcock and Rolls Royce appears to set Britain on course to maintaining its nuclear potency.

"This government is committed to maintaining a continuous submarine-based nuclear deterrent. The contracts announced today .... symbolise an important step towards renewing our nation's nuclear deterrent into the 2060s," Defence Secretary Philip Hammond, a Conservative, said in a statement.

A final decision on the Trident system's renewal is not expected until 2016, a year after parliamentary elections, and Lib Dems insist that design contracts do not represent a commitment to like-for-like renewal.

However, some say it is unlikely that cash-strapped Britain would spend 350 million pounds on designs it would later ditch.

The largest share of the design contracts, worth 328 million pounds, went to BAE's maritime unit. Babcock received a 15 million pound portion and Rolls Royce got a 4 million pound deal.

"It's without commitment in theory, but of course it is with commitment in practice. We wouldn't be spending this kind of money on design if it didn't look as if it was going to go forward," said Eric Grove, director of the University of Salford's Centre for International Security and War studies.

The Defence Ministry said the deals would sustain or create 1,900 jobs at sites across Britain and that engineers at the companies would work with it on the design of the submarines, which will use a new nuclear propulsion system.

"MOSCOW DOCTRINE"

There is room for compromise, and studies have suggested that Britain could still maintain an effective nuclear deterrent while perhaps reducing the number of warheads or reducing the number of submarines used in the system.

Reports have emerged that the Lib Dems want a more radical downgrading of Trident, in particular a departure from the so-called "Moscow doctrine" - the ability for Britain to act alone against Russia or another nation of similar power if need be.

"It is unthinkable today that Britain would contemplate the destruction of the heavily populated capital of Russia - or of any other city," wrote Lib Dem grandee and former party leader Menzies Campbell in the Financial Times newspaper last week.

"It is no longer enough to plan as if the cold war had never ended and mutually assured destruction, or a variant of it, were still necessary," he added, calling for a downgrade but not complete decommissioning of Britain's nuclear capability.

A senior Lib Dem source pointed to Campbell's views as representative of the party's thinking on Trident.

Minister of State for the Armed Forces Nick Harvey, a Lib Dem, is expected to submit a review of alternatives to Prime Minister David Cameron by the end of this year.

Harvey has downplayed the threat posed by other countries, which Trident is designed to counter, and instead highlighted that posed by non-state actors. U.S. President Barack Obama in 2010 said the possibility of "terrorist organisation obtaining a nuclear weapon" was the single biggest threat to U.S. security.

Still, analysts struggle to see credible alternatives to Trident if Britain wants to maintain its current clout in geopolitical affairs.

While some dismiss the Moscow doctrine as a Cold War throwback, others point to Britain's fraught ties with Russia in recent years, Moscow's increasingly tense relations with NATO and President Vladimir Putin's plans to beef up his military.

($1 = 0.6328 British pounds)

(Editing by Steve Addison and Diana Abdallah)

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Newest Frequently Asked Questions On Recognized Obligation ...

A. Yes we interpret the Supreme Court?s order to clearly mandate that ABX1 26 be fully?implemented, with a timing delay for some implementation steps. There was no?indication that the process set forth for the January through June period should not result?in additional money distributed to taxing entities. The court simply delayed when the?payments were to be made, but did not eliminate those payments. ?This is in addition to?the deduction of the amount of Redevelopment Property Tax Trust Fund on the?approved ROPS for the July through December 2012 period from the June 1 property?tax available. Thus this allocation will represent the entire allocation of property tax to?taxing entities for the 2011-12 fiscal year.

Q. What happens to the distribution of property tax to a successor agency that does not?submit a usable Recognized Obligation Payment Schedule before the June 1 date for?distribution of property tax?

A. A county auditor controller can only distribute property tax based on a ROPS that is?approved by Department of Finance. Department of Finance will make every effort to?resolve issues and approve a ROPS for purposes of determining the June 1 distribution?by May 25. If there is no ROPS prior to June 1, or it cannot be determined from the?ROPS what amounts are appropriate to be funded from property tax, we believe auditor controllers should make a timely distribution of pass through payments and distribute the?remaining property tax to taxing agencies on June 1. However, Section 34182 provides?that the auditor controller is to administer the Redevelopment Property Tax Trust Fund?for the benefit of holders of enforceable obligations. To the extent the auditor-controller?knows of enforceable obligations, either from information provided by the Department of?Finance or another source, such as bond debt service payments, that must be paid from?the current property tax allocation, the auditor-controller may withhold such amounts?from the allocations to taxing agencies and the successor, pending receipt of an?approved ROPS.

Q. Why does Finance insist that every line item be split by funding source?

A. In order to determine the amount of property tax to transfer to the successor agency?to fund obligations payable from current property tax revenues (funds deposited in the?Redevelopment Property Tax Trust Fund), the amount of obligations required to be?funded from that source for each six month period must be determined. The Recognized?Obligation Payment Schedule (ROPS) is the means of doing this determination. To add?up the amounts payable from the Redevelopment Property Tax Trust Fund (RPTTF),?they must be discretely identified. ?We strongly suggest agencies use the sample ROPS?on our website, which has a separate page for each funding source, or something?similar, which allows spending to be discretely identified by fund sources as described in?subdivision (l) of Section 34177. ?If this information is not provided, it may be impossible to distribute property tax to the successor agency because the successor will have failed ?to provide critical information.?We are also reviewing for appropriate use of reserves and other funding sources.

Q. Why is Finance including items that we do not consider administrative costs in the?administrative cost calculation?

A. We suggest that agencies use the sample ROPS form on our website that includes a?separate page for such items. While we may disagree with how some items are?categorized, by having your designation, we can have a more efficient discussion of?what should be considered administration. This calculation only applies to costs to be?funded from the RPTTF. We would expect that many costs related to project delivery?and management of buildings, as examples, would not be charged to RPTTF when?rental income, bond proceeds or other project revenues and reserves are available to?fund the costs.

Q. If bonds have tax increment pledged as a backstop payment source or require a?reserve to be held until payment is made, should the payment source be listed as?RPTTF?

A. Bonds that are sold based on the use of a revenues stream such as rents or other?sources of income should be listed as obligations to be paid from that source. Otherwise?the amount of property tax allocated to the successor agency will exceed the?enforceable obligations. If a bond indenture require reserves to be held until payments?are made, unless these reserves have not been previously funded, new funding should ?not be requested for them. If funding a required reserve is the nature of the need for?property tax, the obligation should be described that way and you should be prepared to?document the requirement to fund the reserve in a specific amount. If the reserve will be?released after payment, or a previously established reserve is no longer required, the?successor agency should promptly remit released sums to the county auditor-controller ?for distribution to taxing agencies. ?If the source of revenue intended for repayment is not ?sufficient to fund the debt service and there is a backstop pledge of tax increment, the?amount needed to supplement the primary repayment source should be listed separately?on the ROPS as an RPTTF obligation.

Q. Is it acceptable to list all obligations that could be paid, but are not required to be?paid, from RPTTF even though by doing so the total amount identified as payable from ?that source is more than is available for distribution to the successor agency for this six?month period?

A. No. This results in an impossible demand for more funds than are available, and?almost certainly means that the actual funding sources for items have been?misidentified. ?We expect successor agencies to present a realistic and achievable?funding plan in the ROPS. ?Agencies that provide such a ROPS should expect most, if ?not all items proposed to be funded from RPTTF, to be reviewed by Finance staff. ?Current property tax receipts should be the funding source of last resort, unless legally, ?they are the only funds that can be used for a particular obligation. ?If an agency is truly?insolvent, meaning that there are insufficient funds available from all legally?usable?sources to pay for current obligations, the ROPS should identify what obligations have?priority for payment and which will not be funded.

Q. If a successor agency receives a letter from Department of Finance objecting to one?or more items on the ROPS, is that decision final or can the successor continue to?provide information and explanation for disputed items?

A. We expect that for some items, more than the 10 day review time will be needed for?the successor agency to provide all of the requested information and for Finance staff to?review it and make determinations. Conversations with the review staff identified on the?bottom of the letter should continue until all information has been provided that may be?useful and all explanations and discussions have occurred. If we reach the conclusion?that the questioned item is an enforceable obligation and/or that the proposed funding?source is appropriate, we will send another letter. We anticipate sending ROPS approval?notices to successors and county auditors on or around May 25 for the June 1 property?tax distributions. While that approval will conclude our review of property tax funded?items for the two ROPS being funded at that time, we will continue to review questioned?items funded from other sources and will send revised ROPS approval letters if our?views change on those items. ?If continued review of an item to be funded from property?tax produces a change in our views, the outcome can be reflected on the next ROPS.

Q. If a successor agency does not believe Finance?s ROPS review staff have?understood the relevant ?provisions of supporting documents, or do not have a correct?reading of the law, or have misapplied it in the specific circumstances relevant to a?question item on a ROPS, can further Finance review be requested?

A. Finance staff is instructed to request the assistance of counsel and guidance from?Finance management on difficult issues. Successor agencies may request additional?review through the review staff. Those staff persons are identified at the bottom of the?letter from Finance. They will brief Finance attorneys and/or management staff on the?issues and then there may need to be additional communication with the successor?agency on some issues. While we cannot meet with every agency, we will try to arrange?the most efficient form of discussion for everyone, which may be one or more meetings?or conference calls. As work leading to the distribution of property tax on June 1 is the?highest priority, work on difficult issues that do not affect that distribution may be

postponed until after June 1.

Q. If Finance has objected to the inclusion of a repayment of a loan from the local?agency that formed the redevelopment agency on the ROPS, will Finance object if the?oversight board approves the reestablishment of that interagency agreement and?provides for a repayment schedule.?

A. Yes, Finance will object to any reestablishment of an agreement with the local agency?that created the redevelopment agency, unless the successor can demonstrate that the?redevelopment agency funding was contemporaneously pledged for payment of ?indebtedness obligations as set forth in Section 34171 of the Health and Safety Code.

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