Col. Marjorie Grantham U.S. Army Public Health Command
While most of us are aware that hazardous noise damages hearing, how to protect ourselves in a way that allows us to live and work in a world of sometimes dangerous sounds is just not intuitive.
Whether your favorite noisy recreational activity involves shooting, hunting, musical concerts, working out to tunes on your personal listening system, jamming with your band, boating or fishing on your favorite local waterway, achieving the perfect garden, or heading out for NASCAR, sporting or Scouting events, there is a hearing protector that is right for you.
Wearing earmuffs can help protect your hearing. (Courtesy photo)
Remember, too, that you can reduce your hazardous sound exposure by listening to music and other good sounds below the halfway point on the volume control, by limiting listening time and by giving your ears some quiet time to recover.
So, how do you know when you need hearing protection?
If you are standing three feet away from someone and have to raise your voice above the background sounds, or if you are facing someone and the noise is so loud that you cannot hear him from this distance, use hearing protectors.
Earplugs, earmuffs and communications and protection systems, such as Tactical Communications and Protective Systems (TCAPS), come in many different styles. If you are unsure whether your hearing protectors fit or are the right kind for the sounds you are in, check with your installation hearing program manager, your audiologist, your hearing technician or your unit hearing program officer.
It is no longer inevitable that you retire from the Army with hearing loss. Research demonstrates that if you wear your hearing protection properly and at the right time, you?ll retire from Army service with your hearing intact.
Best of all, you can enjoy your favorite sounds off duty, too.
(Editor?s note: Grantham is the Army Hearing Program manager.)
U.S. Army Public Health Command
To learn more about how the Army Hearing Program supports you, visit these sites:
?http://phc.amedd.army.mil/topics/workplacehealth/hrc/Pages/RelatedSites.aspx, and
There are many options when it comes to health insurance and you can purchase it from a plethora of companies. Doing your homework and keeping notes will help you in your search. Do your research before making any choices.The tips offered here will help you find the perfect match for your way to great health insurance.
If you got a job right out of college, you can use their employee-based insurance. If you are not yet 26, you can still be covered by your parents, as well.
Your first step in acquiring a new health insurance package should be crunching the numbers and coming up with a rough estimate of the total costs involved. Take into consideration all the costs coming your way, such as premiums, deductibles and co-pays. While these can be confusing at first, it is in your best interest to know the costs, and reasons, before you purchase a policy.
Open Enrollment
When it?s time for open enrollment, take the time to evaluate your health insurance needs. Open enrollment allows you time to change vision and dental coverage if that is offered.
Individual policies tend to cost quite a bit more than a group plan, so plan accordingly. It is possible you might have to be satisfied with a higher deductible or less coverage.Get a number of quotes from several different insurance companies to find the best policy and coverage.
Vision insurance can be very helpful if you or anyone in your family has vision problems. A portion of eye doctor visits as well as corrective lenses are covered. You are not required to carry vision insurance, so if no one in your family suffers from an eye disorder, you can save money by foregoing it.
TIP! Do a quick check annually to verify what prescription medications your policy will continue to cover. It is common for insurance providers to change the rules from year to year with little warning, so refrain from enrolling for another year until you read the newest policy.
Health insurance carriers can change the types of medications they cover, so make sure you read the fine print every time you re-enroll. If you suddenly find that your health insurance plan is not covering your ongoing medications any longer, you may need to find a new insurance company ? fast.
Expect your health insurance policy to have loopholes within the fine print. Read the policy through and through, so you know what your policy covers and what it does not.
Make sure the doctors and hospitals accept your choice of health insurance. You can easily check to see if your doctor is listed by checking the insurance company?s website.
Obtaining catastrophic coverage instead of comprehensive coverage can often save you money on health insurance. Catastrophic coverage is for emergency uses, and comprehensive coverage is for prescriptions and visits to the doctor.
Health Insurance
Many great health insurance plans are available to consumers. You need to do research if you want to find the prefect insurance company with the perfect policy that fits all of your needs. Using the advice from this article will assist you in getting the best health insurance possible.
KATMANDU, Nepal (AP) ? An 80-year-old Japanese mountaineer on Thursday became the oldest person to reach the top of Mount Everest ? although his record may last only a few days. An 81-year-old Nepalese man, who held the previous record, plans his own ascent next week.
Yuichiro Miura, who also conquered the 29,035-foot (8,850-meter) peak when he was 70 and 75, reached the summit at 9:05 a.m. local time Thursday, according to a Nepalese mountaineering official and Miura's Tokyo-based support team.
Miura and his son Gota called them from the summit, prompting his daughter Emili to smile broadly and clap her hands in footage on public broadcaster NHK.
"I made it!" Miura said over the phone. "I never imagined I could make it to the top of Mt. Everest at age 80. This is the world's best feeling, although I'm totally exhausted. Even at 80, I can still do quite well."
The climbers planned to stick around the summit for about half an hour, take photos and then start to descend, his office said.
Nepalese mountaineering official Gyanendra Shrestha, at Everest base camp, confirmed that Miura had reached the summit, making him the oldest person to do so.
The previous oldest was Nepal's Min Bahadur Sherchan, who accomplished the feat at age 76 in 2008, just a day before Miura reached the top at age 75.
Sherchan, now 81, was preparing to scale the peak next week despite digestive problems he suffered several days ago. On Wednesday, Sherchan said by telephone from the base camp that he was in good health and "ready to take up the challenge."
Sherchan's team is also facing financial difficulties. It hasn't received the financial help that the Nepal government announced it would provide them. Purna Chandra Bhattarai, chief of Nepal's mountaineering department, said the aid proposal was still under consideration.
On his expedition's website, Miura explained his attempt to scale Everest at such an advanced age: "It is to challenge (my) own ultimate limit. It is to honor the great Mother Nature."
He said a successful climb would raise the bar for what is possible.
"And if the limit of age 80 is at the summit of Mt. Everest, the highest place on earth, one can never be happier," he said.
Miura conquered the mountain despite undergoing heart surgery in January for irregular heartbeat, or arrhythmia, his fourth heart operation since 2007, according to his daughter. He also fractured his pelvis and left thigh bone in a 2009 skiing accident.
Miura became famous when he was a young man as a daredevil speed skier.
He skied down Everest's South Col in 1970, using a parachute to brake his descent. The feat was captured in the Oscar-winning 1975 documentary, "The Man Who Skied Down Everest." He has also skied down Mt. Fuji.
It wasn't until Miura was 70, however, that he first climbed all the way to the summit of Everest. When he summited again at 75, he claimed to be the only man to accomplish the feat twice in his 70s. After that, he said he was determined to climb again at age 80.
___
Associated Press writers Malcolm Foster and Mari Yamaguchi contributed to this report from Tokyo.
No, not that One. Or that other One. It's definitely not this One either. Rather, we're talking about this One -- you know, the HTC flagship kind -- and the folks at AT&T have a unit ready for you to win. This particular model is of the 32GB persuasion, and it's currently up for grabs. It's not unlocked to all carriers and doesn't come with free service, so we have to limit this contest to our US readers. Two entries are all yours, and you can snag a third for the price of answering a simple question about BlinkFeed. So head below to the Rafflecopter widget and enter! Good luck.
Lost in the question of whether the Seahawks face fines for future player suspensions is the reality that, based on the policy created by the NFL in 2008, they likely paid more than $60,000 for suspensions that happened in 2012.
The NFL has declined comment on the question of whether and to what extent the Seahawks have been fined for past suspensions, explaining that this information isn?t disclosed for any team.? But the league office has confirmed that the formula developed in 2008 still applies, and it?s public knowledge that three Seahawks were suspended during the 2012 season:? offensive lineman Allen Barbre, safety Winston Guy, and cornerback Brandon Browner.
Barbre came first, suspended the first four games of the season under the performance-enhancing drugs policy.? He was cut after the suspension ended in October.
Under the league?s policy, the Seahawks faced fines for the second suspension (Guy) and the third (Browner).? Based on their salaries for 2012, Guy lost $97,500 in salary during his four-week suspension.? The policy converts 25 percent of that into a fine, which equates to $24,375.
Next up was Browner, who served a four-game suspension and forfeited $109,411 in base salary.? Since Browner?s suspension was the third of the year, one third of his lost salary became a fine.? That?s $36,470.
The total of the two fines is $60,845.
This year, the Seahawks will be fined if there?s another suspension under the substance-abuse policy, the policy regarding steroids and related substances, or the personal-conduct policy, given that defensive end Bruce Irvin already will miss the first four games of the year after testing positive for performance-enhancing drugs.
It?s unclear whether fines will make teams more careful about acquiring players who carry the red flag of a possible violations.? Former Chiefs G.M. Scott Pioli said on Tuesday?s PFT Live that the league has discussed the possibility of stripping draft picks as an alternative to fines.
That could be the best way to handle the situation.? Team?s view fines as a cost of doing business; losing draft picks impacts competitive interests, and thus are more likely to get the franchise?s attention.
EMBO announces 52 new members for 2013Public release date: 21-May-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Barry Whyte communications@embo.org 49-622-188-91108 European Molecular Biology Organization
Heidelberg, 21 May 2013 EMBO announced today that 52 outstanding researchers in the life sciences were newly elected to its membership. Forty-three of the researchers reside in Europe and neighboring countries and are accompanied by the election of nine Associate Members from Canada, China, India, Japan and the United States. The EMBO membership currently comprises around 1600 life scientists.
"Our members are the basis for the international reputation of our organisation," EMBO Director Maria Leptin said. "We have been building our network of members for almost 50 years and the EMBO membership is the foundation for our future growth and achievements. I look forward to the fresh input and ideas that the new EMBO members will bring to the organisation."
The most recent scientists to join the EMBO membership come from 15 different countries and include 16 female scientists.
EMBO Members make invaluable contributions to the organization by providing suggestions and feedback on the activities of EMBO. They serve on selection committees for EMBO programmes and mentor young scientists. Their input has helped to promote excellence in life sciences since 1964.
Newly elected members and associate members are:
NEW EMBO MEMBERS 2013
Andrew P. Jackson, United Kingdom
Anne Bertolotti, United Kingdom
Anne Eichmann, France
Anne Houdusse, France
Anu Suomalainen, Finland
Asifa Akhtar, Germany
Buzz Baum, United Kingdom
Christoph Dehio, Switzerland
Daniel Metzger, France
Deborah Fass, Israel
Eileen Furlong, Germany
Elena Cattaneo, Italy
Fiona Powrie, United Kingdom
Franoise Stutz, Switzerland
Frank Bradke, Germany
Grard Eberl, France
Gioacchino Natoli, Italy
Herwig Baier, Germany
Iris Salecker, United Kingdom
Isabel Farias Gmez, Spain
John van der Oost, the Netherlands
Kaspar Locher, Switzerland
Ketan Patel, United Kingdom
Kostas Tokatlidis, United Kingdom
Lars Steinmetz, Germany
Luciano Di Croce, Spain
Luis Aragn, United Kingdom
Marileen Dogterom, the Netherlands
Matthias Merkenschlager, United Kingdom
Michael Boutros, Germany
Nicholas Luscombe, United Kingdom
Nicholas Talbot, United Kingdom
Paloma Ms, Spain
Peter Scheiffele, Switzerland
Peter ebo, Czech Republic
Petra Schwille, Germany
Piet Gros, the Netherlands
Ramanujan Hegde, United Kingdom
Roger Goody, Germany
Roland Lill, Germany
Rosario Rizzuto, Italy
Shahragim Tajbakhsh, France
Wolfgang Zachariae, Germany
NEW ASSOCIATE MEMBERS
Bonnie L. Bassler, United States
Eugene V. Koonin, United States
Jyayang Li, China
Satyajit (Jitu) Mayor, India
Ruslan M. Medzhitov, United States
Andre Nussenzweig, United States
Yoshinori Ohsumi, Japan
Yigong Shi, China
Nahum Sonenberg, Canada
###
About EMBO
EMBO stands for excellence in the life sciences. The organization enables the best science by supporting talented researchers, stimulating scientific exchange and advancing policies for a world-class European research environment.
EMBO is an organization of almost 1600 leading life scientist members that fosters new generations of researchers to produce world-class scientific results. EMBO helps young scientists to advance their research, promote their international reputations and ensure their mobility. Courses, workshops, conferences and scientific journals disseminate the latest research and offer training in cutting-edge techniques to maintain high standards of excellence in research practice. EMBO helps to shape science and research policy by seeking input and feedback from our community and by following closely the trends in science in Europe.
Media contacts
Barry Whyte
Head, EMBO Public Relations & Communications
Yvonne Kaul
Communications Officer
P: +49 6221 8891 108/111
communications@embo.org
For more information: http://www.embo.org
[ | E-mail | Share ]
?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
EMBO announces 52 new members for 2013Public release date: 21-May-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Barry Whyte communications@embo.org 49-622-188-91108 European Molecular Biology Organization
Heidelberg, 21 May 2013 EMBO announced today that 52 outstanding researchers in the life sciences were newly elected to its membership. Forty-three of the researchers reside in Europe and neighboring countries and are accompanied by the election of nine Associate Members from Canada, China, India, Japan and the United States. The EMBO membership currently comprises around 1600 life scientists.
"Our members are the basis for the international reputation of our organisation," EMBO Director Maria Leptin said. "We have been building our network of members for almost 50 years and the EMBO membership is the foundation for our future growth and achievements. I look forward to the fresh input and ideas that the new EMBO members will bring to the organisation."
The most recent scientists to join the EMBO membership come from 15 different countries and include 16 female scientists.
EMBO Members make invaluable contributions to the organization by providing suggestions and feedback on the activities of EMBO. They serve on selection committees for EMBO programmes and mentor young scientists. Their input has helped to promote excellence in life sciences since 1964.
Newly elected members and associate members are:
NEW EMBO MEMBERS 2013
Andrew P. Jackson, United Kingdom
Anne Bertolotti, United Kingdom
Anne Eichmann, France
Anne Houdusse, France
Anu Suomalainen, Finland
Asifa Akhtar, Germany
Buzz Baum, United Kingdom
Christoph Dehio, Switzerland
Daniel Metzger, France
Deborah Fass, Israel
Eileen Furlong, Germany
Elena Cattaneo, Italy
Fiona Powrie, United Kingdom
Franoise Stutz, Switzerland
Frank Bradke, Germany
Grard Eberl, France
Gioacchino Natoli, Italy
Herwig Baier, Germany
Iris Salecker, United Kingdom
Isabel Farias Gmez, Spain
John van der Oost, the Netherlands
Kaspar Locher, Switzerland
Ketan Patel, United Kingdom
Kostas Tokatlidis, United Kingdom
Lars Steinmetz, Germany
Luciano Di Croce, Spain
Luis Aragn, United Kingdom
Marileen Dogterom, the Netherlands
Matthias Merkenschlager, United Kingdom
Michael Boutros, Germany
Nicholas Luscombe, United Kingdom
Nicholas Talbot, United Kingdom
Paloma Ms, Spain
Peter Scheiffele, Switzerland
Peter ebo, Czech Republic
Petra Schwille, Germany
Piet Gros, the Netherlands
Ramanujan Hegde, United Kingdom
Roger Goody, Germany
Roland Lill, Germany
Rosario Rizzuto, Italy
Shahragim Tajbakhsh, France
Wolfgang Zachariae, Germany
NEW ASSOCIATE MEMBERS
Bonnie L. Bassler, United States
Eugene V. Koonin, United States
Jyayang Li, China
Satyajit (Jitu) Mayor, India
Ruslan M. Medzhitov, United States
Andre Nussenzweig, United States
Yoshinori Ohsumi, Japan
Yigong Shi, China
Nahum Sonenberg, Canada
###
About EMBO
EMBO stands for excellence in the life sciences. The organization enables the best science by supporting talented researchers, stimulating scientific exchange and advancing policies for a world-class European research environment.
EMBO is an organization of almost 1600 leading life scientist members that fosters new generations of researchers to produce world-class scientific results. EMBO helps young scientists to advance their research, promote their international reputations and ensure their mobility. Courses, workshops, conferences and scientific journals disseminate the latest research and offer training in cutting-edge techniques to maintain high standards of excellence in research practice. EMBO helps to shape science and research policy by seeking input and feedback from our community and by following closely the trends in science in Europe.
Media contacts
Barry Whyte
Head, EMBO Public Relations & Communications
Yvonne Kaul
Communications Officer
P: +49 6221 8891 108/111
communications@embo.org
For more information: http://www.embo.org
[ | E-mail | Share ]
?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
A parent rushes to embrace her child as a teacher escorts her away from Briarwood Elementary school after a tornado destroyed the school in south Oklahoma City, Okla, Monday, May 20, 2013. Near SW 149th and Hudson. (AP Photo/ The Oklahoman, Paul Hellstern)
A parent rushes to embrace her child as a teacher escorts her away from Briarwood Elementary school after a tornado destroyed the school in south Oklahoma City, Okla, Monday, May 20, 2013. Near SW 149th and Hudson. (AP Photo/ The Oklahoman, Paul Hellstern)
Children wait for their parents to arrive at Briarwood Elementary school after a tornado destroyed the school in south Oklahoma City, Okla, Monday, May 20, 2013. Near SW 149th and Hudson. (AP Photo/ The Oklahoman, Paul Hellstern)
Rebekah Stuck hugs her son, Aiden Stuck, 7, after she found him in front of the destroyed Briarwood Elementary after a tornado struck south Oklahoma City and Moore, Okla., Monday, May 20, 2013. Aiden Stuck was inside the school when it was hit. (AP Photo/ The Oklahoman, Nate Billings)
Shawna Scott, second from left, tries to help Jeanett McAllister, second from right, and McAllister's son, Tonice Woods, find McAllister's two nieces, Sabrina and Olivia Durkey, who are students at Briarwood Elementary, after a tornado struck south Oklahoma City and Moore, Okla., Monday, May 20, 2013. At left is Feliciana Hernando, Scott's niece. Scott has a home daycare near SW 156th and Vicki and went to Briarwood to pick up one of the children she watches. She took a group of students from the destroyed school to her home to wait for their parents. (AP Photo/ The Oklahoman, Nate Billings)
MOORE, Okla. (AP) ? The parents and guardians stood in the muddy grass outside a suburban Oklahoma City church, listening as someone with a bullhorn called out the names of children who were being dropped off ? survivors of a deadly tornado that barreled through their community.
For many families, the ordeal ended in bear hugs and tears of joy as loved ones reunited. Others were left to wait in the darkness, hoping for good news while fearing the worst.
At least 20 children are among the more than 50 reported dead so far in Moore, the Oklahoma City suburb ravaged by Monday's tornado that packed winds of up to 200 mph. The twister reduced one elementary school to a heaping mound of rubble and heavily damaged another while also flattening block after block of homes. Officials said early Tuesday the death toll could rise by as many as 40.
At St. Andrews United Methodist Church, parents stared into the distance as they waited, some holding the hands of young children who were missing siblings.
Tonya Sharp and Deanna Wallace sat at a table in the church's gymnasium waiting for their teenage daughters. As Sharp and Wallace spoke, a line of students walked in.
Wallace spotted her 16-year-old daughter, who came quickly her way and jumped into her mother's arms, pushing her several steps backward in the process. But Sharp didn't see her daughter, a 17-year-old who has epilepsy. She worried her daughter hadn't taken her medicine.
"I don't know where she's at," Sharp said. Later, she went to speak to officials who helped her register so she could be notified as soon as her daughter was found.
Shelli Smith had to walk miles to find her children. She was reunited with her 14-year-old daughter, Tiauna, around 5 p.m. Monday, but hadn't yet seen her 16-year-old son, TJ, since he left for school that morning.
TJ's phone had died, but he borrowed a classmate's phone to tell his mother where he was. However, Smith couldn't get to him due to the roadblocks. So she parked her car and started walking.
It took her three hours, but a little after sunset, she found him. She grabbed her son and squeezed him in a tight hug that lasted for several seconds before letting go. TJ hugged his sister, and then hugged his mom again.
The family had a long walk back to their car and then home, but she said she didn't mind.
"I was trying to get him and they wouldn't let me," she said, adding later: "I was like, 'You know what? I'm going to get my son.'"
Renee Lee summed up the struggle for many parents with multiple children ? find the ones who they hadn't yet seen, while calming the younger ones they had with them.
Lee is the mother of two daughters Sydney Walker, 16, and Hannah Lee, 8. When the storm came, she tried to pick Sydney up from school. Sydney told her on the phone that they wouldn't let her come in. While Lee and her younger daughter waited in their home, which wasn't hit, Sydney was safe in the room at a local high school.
Lee said she believed Sydney wasn't hurt and seemed resigned to the severe weather outbreaks.
"There's been so many of them, it doesn't even faze me," she said. "You just do what you gotta do. It's part of living here."
____
Associated Press reporters Jeannie Nuss and Chuck Bartels in Little Rock, Ark., contributed to this report.
Although Google Checkout was rolled into Google Wallet at the end of 2011, it's still been an option for folks who peddle their wares online to collect payments. Come November 20th, however, the service will officially shut down. While Page and Co. recommend US-based merchants switch to the revamped Wallet, they're partnering with Braintree, Shopify and Freshbooks to offer discounted migration options as well. Developers using Checkout for transactions through the Chrome Web Store, Google Play and Offers Marketplace will automatically be transitioned in the coming weeks.
We haven't heard about Mirasol for a while now, but Qualcomm's reflective display tech showed up in a few proof-of-concepts on the SID Display Week floor. We got a look at a previously announced 1.5-inch panel embedded on the top of an "always-on" smartphone and on the face of a smartwatch. Though a rep took care to emphasize that these were just mockups, he said the screen will soon show up in some third-party devices.
More interesting, though, was the company's next-gen display: a 5.1-inch panel sporting a stunning 2,560 x 1,440 (577 ppi) resolution. Viewed up close, it delivers crisp images, but the reflective display kicks back a silvery tint and colors don't pop as they do on other handsets. But while the sky-high pixel count may not tell the whole story, the screen offers one huge plus: a 6x power advantage over LCD and OLED displays. In practical terms, that means devices could go days without charging. Don't expect to see this guy in your next smartphone, though: by "next-gen," Qualcomm means this tech has a few more years in the R&D phase before it'll be ready to hit a licensee's production line. For now, make do with our hands-on video after the break.
The eight anniversary of INDH, the territorial integrity issue and the promotion of very small businesses (VSB) are the main topics that made the headlines of editorials issued on Monday.
?Aujourd?hui le Maroc? said that there is a unanimous agreement on the value added of the National Initiative for Human Development (INDH) and its dynamics in the rural and urban zones in need.
The initiative was an adapted response to these communes and populations, it said, adding that, eight years later, it is time to assess its results and future if the INDH was to become a real public program open to everyone.
?Le Soir Echos? wrote that the success of the initiative is part of the yearly appointments which make us trust and rely on the capacity of public institutions to take care of real problems facing Moroccans and deal with them in the right way, adding that the figures tell a lot: 18 billion dirhams, including 11 for the program?s finance, spanning 8 years for around 30,000 projects which benefited 7 million people.
?Bayane Al Yaoum? said that, according to several observers, the strong mobilization, witnessed on the national political and media scenes in the past few weeks on the Kingdom?s territorial integrity, is beginning to wane after the UNSC meeting, noting that many political formations which have voiced their firm position on the first national cause are now drowned in internal conflicts.
?Attajdid? deemed it necessary to seize international agendas that are hostile to Morocco, put them in their strategic context and think about the best means to counter them.
Economically, ?L?Economiste? took interest in the promotion of very small businesses (VSB) and wrote that the VSB strategy is one of these small revolutions whose measures should be given concrete substance swiftly, adding that, in a tense situation on many fronts, it is normal that all options be explored, including that of VSB.
Contact: Andy Fell ahfell@ucdavis.edu 530-752-4533 University of California - Davis
Fifteen years of research at the University of California, Davis, is being turned into commercial products by Dysonics, a startup company based in San Francisco. Since becoming the first "graduate" from the Engineering Translational Technology Center, a technology incubator at the UC Davis College of Engineering, Dysonics has launched an iPhone app and is developing a broad product range for future launch. The company currently has 10 employees.
Dysonics aims to reproduce a natural sound experience with sound delivered through headphones. The Rondo iPhone app can change the apparent size of the room, and adds directionality. Add the RondoMotion sensor clipped to your headphones, and sounds will appear to change location as you move your head.
The Rondo app and RondoMotion work with existing audio files. The company is also working on generating its own content by recording live events on specialized media. The technology has promise not just for listening to recorded music in a new and richer way, but for a more realistic, "virtual reality" audio experience for teleconferencing and video games.
"There are multiple applications with market potential," said David McGee, executive director of InnovationAccess, the unit within the UC Davis Office of Research responsible for intellectual property management and licensing. "Dysonics is a great example of a faculty-led startup with cool technology and very active support from the college and university."
UC Davis played a crucial role in getting Dysonics started, said co-founder and President Ralph Algazi, professor emeritus of electrical and computer engineering at UC Davis. The company is based on research conducted at UC Davis by Algazi and co-founders Richard Duda, a research scientist at UC Davis, Robert Dalton Jr., a former undergraduate and graduate student in Algazi's lab, and colleagues at the university over several years.
Algazi is interested in how sound waves arriving at our ears carry information, for example, about the size and shape of the room or the direction of the sound source. For example, a piece of music sounds different played in a concert hall or on home theater system than it does played in a small room, or over ear buds. If we turn our heads toward a sound source, our experience changes.
Starting about 10 years ago, the team developed software and equipment that allows motion tracking with headphones, so that when you move your head the sound source appears to stay in the same place.
Algazi was one of the first inventors that McGee met with when he arrived on campus in 2004.
"Ralph gave me a demonstration of the technology, and I was just blown away," McGee said. "This was an entirely different and richer audio experience from what I was used to."
InnovationAccess worked with Algazi and licensed the technology to an existing company. But changing business priorities took that company in a different direction, and UC Davis took the license back so as to ensure that this promising technology would not languish.
By the end of the decade several trends were converging that would lead to the formation of Dysonics.
Motion-sensing technology has become much cheaper and more mobile. At the same time, the boom in mobile devices means people want to be able to listen to music wherever they are, setting off explosive growth in the market for headphones.
"When Ralph told me that he had decided to move the technology forward himself, I was very pleased and we worked very closely with him to make it happen," McGee said. "Empowering an entrepreneurial campus researcher to turn their research into societal impact is what technology transfer is all about."
Algazi talked to Bruce White, then dean of engineering, and ETTC director Jim Olson, a former undergraduate student of Algazi's. The company was founded in March 2011, and just over a year later had secured sufficient funding from angel investors to leave the incubator and strike out on its own.
"ETTC was invaluable for us in securing funding and legal work," Dalton said. "We had a heavy engineering focus and we needed business knowledge."
One unique feature of the ETTC incubator is that philanthropic donations to the College of Engineering enable it to reduce initial patent costs for startup companies. Filing patents costs the university money. Usually, when a company licenses a patent from UC Davis, it agrees to reimburse these out-of-pocket costs as well as support future ongoing costs of maintaining the licensed patents.
"ETTC is able to directly reimburse the university for up to $15,000 in patent costs. The ETTC startup is not charged for those costs. This is enormously beneficial to startups at a stage when they have very little cash," McGee said.
It also permits the startup to secure its foundational intellectual property, a very important consideration for investors. UC Davis Chancellor Linda P.B. Katehi recently approved the use of income from licensing intellectual property to maintain ETTC's ability to cover these costs.
The young company also worked with InnovationAccess to license the patents held by UC Davis.
The company recently (April 24) launched a "kickstarter" campaign to raise funds for its next product, a wireless motion sensor for audio headphones that works with the company's Rondo iPhone app. The company aims to raise $60,000 from the fundraising drive to complete the product.
More than 45 startup companies have been spun off from UC Davis since 2005. The campus currently holds a portfolio of 838 foreign and U.S. patents, and earned income of $13.6 million in fiscal year 2011-12.
###
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AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Contact: Andy Fell ahfell@ucdavis.edu 530-752-4533 University of California - Davis
Fifteen years of research at the University of California, Davis, is being turned into commercial products by Dysonics, a startup company based in San Francisco. Since becoming the first "graduate" from the Engineering Translational Technology Center, a technology incubator at the UC Davis College of Engineering, Dysonics has launched an iPhone app and is developing a broad product range for future launch. The company currently has 10 employees.
Dysonics aims to reproduce a natural sound experience with sound delivered through headphones. The Rondo iPhone app can change the apparent size of the room, and adds directionality. Add the RondoMotion sensor clipped to your headphones, and sounds will appear to change location as you move your head.
The Rondo app and RondoMotion work with existing audio files. The company is also working on generating its own content by recording live events on specialized media. The technology has promise not just for listening to recorded music in a new and richer way, but for a more realistic, "virtual reality" audio experience for teleconferencing and video games.
"There are multiple applications with market potential," said David McGee, executive director of InnovationAccess, the unit within the UC Davis Office of Research responsible for intellectual property management and licensing. "Dysonics is a great example of a faculty-led startup with cool technology and very active support from the college and university."
UC Davis played a crucial role in getting Dysonics started, said co-founder and President Ralph Algazi, professor emeritus of electrical and computer engineering at UC Davis. The company is based on research conducted at UC Davis by Algazi and co-founders Richard Duda, a research scientist at UC Davis, Robert Dalton Jr., a former undergraduate and graduate student in Algazi's lab, and colleagues at the university over several years.
Algazi is interested in how sound waves arriving at our ears carry information, for example, about the size and shape of the room or the direction of the sound source. For example, a piece of music sounds different played in a concert hall or on home theater system than it does played in a small room, or over ear buds. If we turn our heads toward a sound source, our experience changes.
Starting about 10 years ago, the team developed software and equipment that allows motion tracking with headphones, so that when you move your head the sound source appears to stay in the same place.
Algazi was one of the first inventors that McGee met with when he arrived on campus in 2004.
"Ralph gave me a demonstration of the technology, and I was just blown away," McGee said. "This was an entirely different and richer audio experience from what I was used to."
InnovationAccess worked with Algazi and licensed the technology to an existing company. But changing business priorities took that company in a different direction, and UC Davis took the license back so as to ensure that this promising technology would not languish.
By the end of the decade several trends were converging that would lead to the formation of Dysonics.
Motion-sensing technology has become much cheaper and more mobile. At the same time, the boom in mobile devices means people want to be able to listen to music wherever they are, setting off explosive growth in the market for headphones.
"When Ralph told me that he had decided to move the technology forward himself, I was very pleased and we worked very closely with him to make it happen," McGee said. "Empowering an entrepreneurial campus researcher to turn their research into societal impact is what technology transfer is all about."
Algazi talked to Bruce White, then dean of engineering, and ETTC director Jim Olson, a former undergraduate student of Algazi's. The company was founded in March 2011, and just over a year later had secured sufficient funding from angel investors to leave the incubator and strike out on its own.
"ETTC was invaluable for us in securing funding and legal work," Dalton said. "We had a heavy engineering focus and we needed business knowledge."
One unique feature of the ETTC incubator is that philanthropic donations to the College of Engineering enable it to reduce initial patent costs for startup companies. Filing patents costs the university money. Usually, when a company licenses a patent from UC Davis, it agrees to reimburse these out-of-pocket costs as well as support future ongoing costs of maintaining the licensed patents.
"ETTC is able to directly reimburse the university for up to $15,000 in patent costs. The ETTC startup is not charged for those costs. This is enormously beneficial to startups at a stage when they have very little cash," McGee said.
It also permits the startup to secure its foundational intellectual property, a very important consideration for investors. UC Davis Chancellor Linda P.B. Katehi recently approved the use of income from licensing intellectual property to maintain ETTC's ability to cover these costs.
The young company also worked with InnovationAccess to license the patents held by UC Davis.
The company recently (April 24) launched a "kickstarter" campaign to raise funds for its next product, a wireless motion sensor for audio headphones that works with the company's Rondo iPhone app. The company aims to raise $60,000 from the fundraising drive to complete the product.
More than 45 startup companies have been spun off from UC Davis since 2005. The campus currently holds a portfolio of 838 foreign and U.S. patents, and earned income of $13.6 million in fiscal year 2011-12.
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Taking a page from the Grammys and the MTV VMAs and other awards show books that call for riskier fashion choices, the ladies of the Billboard Music Awards didn't disappoint Sunday night. Or maybe they did, depending on what disappoints you.
On the blue carpet before the show and onstage at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, the queens of pop, rap, country and whatever Ke$ha does pushed the limits. And then Madonna pushed a little further.
Check out the lineup below and be sure to vote for your ... favorite?
Madonna The Material Girl busted out the garter belts and a fishnet mini skirt with matching fishnet glove things -- it's goth "Deadliest Catch."
Jason Merritt / Getty Images
Taylor Swift The country princess sparkled in a blue mini-dress long before she changed into a unicorn T-shirt to perform the song "22."
David Becker / Getty Images
Miley Cyrus You have to be getting to like her short hair by now, right? It works. How about her diamond-patterned jumpsuit?
Ethan Miller / Getty Images
Jennifer Lopez Thigh-high red leather boots, a shiny red leotard thing with red feathery arms -- J.Lo is the sexiest Muppet we've ever seen.
Ethan Miller / Getty Images
Ke$ha Does the wind blow in Las Vegas? If it did on Sunday night, that little dress flap would have left even less to the imagination.
Robyn Beck / AFP - Getty Images
Selena Gomez Maybe this is why Justin Bieber took her back. Good thing that whoever slashed her dress with a sword left that part on her hip intact.
John Shearer / AP
Nicki Minaj In an answer to the red that J.Lo busted out, Minaj went a little more conservative, but that look in her eyes definitely says, "Look at my EYES."
May 20, 2013 ? A new report suggests that improved health care and significant reductions in drug costs might be attained by breaking up the age-old relationship between physicians and drug company representatives who promote the newest, more costly and often unnecessary prescription drugs.
This system, which has been in place for decades, at one time benefited doctors by keeping them up to date on new medications, and always provided generous amounts of "free" samples to get patients started on the newest drugs, as well as other supplies and gifts.
But it's actually a powerful marketing process into which the pharmaceutical industry pours tens of billions of dollars a year, with more than 90,000 drug representatives providing gifts and advice. There is one drug representative for every eight doctors in the United States. This doesn't necessarily serve the best interests of the patient in terms of economy, efficacy, safety or accuracy of information, experts say.
In one of the first reports of its type -- titled "Breaking Up is Hard to Do" -- researchers from Oregon State University, Oregon Health & Science University and the University of Washington outlined the deliberate process that one central Oregon medical clinic went through to remove drug company representatives from their practice. It explored the obstacles they faced and the ultimate, successful result. The findings were just published in the Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine.
The study found that avoiding conflicts of interest and becoming "pharma-free" is possible, but not easy.
"This is a culture change, one that's already happening but still has a ways to go, especially in smaller private practices," said Dr. David Evans, now with the Department of Family Medicine at the University of Washington, and previously a physician at the Madras, Ore., clinic featured in the article.
"The relationship between physicians and drug company representatives goes back generations, and it took a methodical, deliberate campaign to change it," Evans said. "We ultimately decided something had to be done when our medical clinic was visited by drug reps 199 times in six months. That number was just staggering."
Part of what allows the change, the researchers said, is that information on new medications is now available in many other forums. These may have less bias and be more evidence-based than the material traditionally provided by the pharmaceutical industry, which wanted to sell the latest product. In the Madras clinic, the physicians replaced information previously supplied by drug reps with monthly meetings to stay current on new medications, based on peer-reviewed, rather than promotional literature.
"In the past 5-10 years there's been more of a move toward what we call 'academic detailing,' in which universities and other impartial sources of information can provide accurate information without bias," said Daniel Hartung, assistant professor in the OSU College of Pharmacy. "This is being supported by some states and the federal government, and it's a move in the right direction."
Moves to separate the drug industry from the practice of medicine have been more aggressive in large medical teaching hospitals, Hartung said, but much less so in smaller private practice. Of the 800,000 physicians in the U.S., only 22 percent practice in academic settings, the study noted, and 84 percent of primary care physicians still have close relationships with the pharmaceutical industry.
The stakes can be high, the researchers said. In the study example, the "sample cabinet" of medications at the Madras clinic, provided for free by the pharmaceutical representatives, had an average price of $90 for a month's supply of the medications. Less expensive, generic medications were identified for 38 of the 46 sample drugs, which would have cost $22 a month.
The new analysis explored the necessary steps that a private clinic can take to help address this concern, including quantifying the clinic-industry relationship, anticipating clinician and staff concerns, finding new ways to provide up-to-date information, and educating patients and the public.
New York Rangers right wing Ryan Callahan (24) celebrates his goal and center Derek Stepan cheers from behind as Boston Bruins defenseman Zdeno Chara (33) reacts during the first period in Game 2 of the NHL Eastern Conference semifinal hockey playoff series in Boston, Sunday, May 19, 2013. (AP Photo/Elise Amendola)
New York Rangers right wing Ryan Callahan (24) celebrates his goal and center Derek Stepan cheers from behind as Boston Bruins defenseman Zdeno Chara (33) reacts during the first period in Game 2 of the NHL Eastern Conference semifinal hockey playoff series in Boston, Sunday, May 19, 2013. (AP Photo/Elise Amendola)
New York Rangers center Brian Boyle (22) goes down to the ice as he chases the puck against Boston Bruins defensemen Adam McQuaid (54) and Torey Krug (47) during the first period in Game 2 of the NHL Eastern Conference semifinal hockey playoff series in Boston, Sunday, May 19, 2013. (AP Photo/Elise Amendola)
Boston Bruins defenseman Matt Bartkowski (43) and New York Rangers right wing Ryan Callahan (24) grapple along the boards during the first period in Game 2 of the NHL Eastern Conference semifinal hockey playoff series in Boston, Sunday, May 19, 2013. (AP Photo/Elise Amendola)
New York Rangers right wing Ryan Callahan, left, scores against Boston Bruins goalie Tuukka Rask, right, during the first period in Game 2 of the NHL Eastern Conference semifinal hockey playoff series in Boston, Sunday, May 19, 2013. (AP Photo/Elise Amendola)
Boston Bruins defenseman Zdeno Chara, front left, goes down against New York Rangers right wing Ryan Callahan (24) as Bruins left wing Daniel Paille (20) looks on during the first period in Game 2 of the NHL Eastern Conference semifinal hockey playoff series in Boston, Sunday, May 19, 2013. (AP Photo/Elise Amendola)
BOSTON (AP) ? Claude Julien wanted his Bruins to play more aggressively in the third period. The Boston coach got his wish with the help of some shaky defense by the New York Rangers.
A rare rough day for goalie Henrik Lundqvist certainly helped, too.
Brad Marchand and Milan Lucic scored in the final period after Johnny Boychuk broke a tie in the second, Lundqvist gave up more than four goals for the first time in 152 games, and Boston beat New York 5-2 on Sunday to take a 2-0 lead in the Eastern Conference semifinal series.
"Some games you're going to get more goals, some maybe less," Bruins captain Zdeno Chara said, "but the important thing was we were trying to focus on playing hard until the end."
New York's best period was the second when it outshot Boston 16-9. The Rangers then allowed two goals in the third.
"We gave it to them," said Lundqvist, last year's Vezina Trophy winner as the NHL's top goalie. "I thought we played great. I didn't think they had to work really hard to get a couple goals there. We just made it really tough on ourselves."
Games 3 and 4 in the best-of-seven series will be played in New York on Tuesday and Thursday nights.
The Rangers played their best period of the series in the second, but Brad Marchand gave Boston a 4-2 lead just 26 seconds into the third.
Patrice Bergeron carried the puck in deep on the right side and passed across the crease to Marchand, who had gotten behind defenseman Dan Girardi for a tip-in.
"We felt really good going into the third, and to have that type of goal go in ? it's just two-on-two ? it hurts you," Rangers coach John Tortorella said. "We couldn't generate anything, and then they're just going to fill the middle and they're just going to jam you."
The Bruins went ahead to stay, 3-2, at 12:08 of the second period when Boychuk, who had one goal in the regular season, shot a 40-footer inside the near post for his third playoff goal.
The shot got through several players before it sailed past Lundqvist.
"It was definitely a screen," Boychuk said. "All I had to do was hit the net because there were a couple of guys in front of him."
Boston never trailed as rookie Torey Krug scored the first goal before Rangers captain Ryan Callahan tied it. Gregory Campbell made it 2-1, and New York pulled even again on Rick Nash's goal, his first of the playoffs after he led the Rangers with 21 in the regular season.
Now the Rangers find themselves in a familiar position, down 0-2.
They lost the first two games of their first-round series in Washington, won the next two in New York before losing Game 5 on the road.
But Lundqvist posted consecutive shutouts in Games 6 and 7 against the Capitals when the Rangers faced elimination.
"We've done it before," Lundqvist said, "but I think we are playing a better team now so it's going to be tough to do it."
There's also the matter of his left shoulder that was hit by Daniel Paille's shot in the third period. Lundqvist rubbed it after the game and said, "We'll take a look at it."
Tuukka Rask was solid again for Boston, stopping 35 shots.
"You have to give Tuukka a lot of credit," Julien said. "Turnovers and giveaways in the second period are not something we do too much, and it could have been disastrous."
After the second period, "I told guys to play to win," he said. "I don't like our team when we are back on our heels and protecting a one-goal lead that way."
Marchand gave the Bruins a two-goal advantage when he scored on a play just like the one that gave Boston a 3-2 overtime win on Thursday night.
"It was very similar. I was kind of hanging back there backdoor, and Bergy made an unbelievable pass again," he said. "It's always good to get a couple-goal lead early in the third."
Lucic made it 5-2 at 12:39. He skated into the New York end and gave the puck to David Krejci, who was stopped by Lundqvist, but Lucic converted the rebound.
The last time Lundqvist allowed more than four goals was March 9, 2011, in a 5-2 loss to Anaheim. In the next 151 games, in the regular season and playoffs, he allowed four goals just 13 times.
Tortorella remains confident despite the five goals Lundqvist gave up Sunday
"I don't need to evaluate Henrik," he said. "We know what Henrik is."
It takes more than consecutive losses to rattle Lundqvist.
"I'm confident I'm going to go home and try to play a strong game in the next one," he said.
After a series in which the teams were basically even throughout the first game and the first two periods of the second, the Bruins aren't overconfident.
"We didn't play our best," Marchand said. "They had a lot of opportunities that if they would've converted on, then it would be a completely different story right now. I think especially in the second period, they took it to us, but we were able to bounce back. It's definitely a very even series."
NOTES: Lundqvist has started New York's last 29 games against Boston. ... The Bruins played their second straight game without injured veteran defensemen Andrew Ference, Dennis Seidenberg and Wade Redden. ... A Bruins defenseman got a goal or an assist on each of the team's goals. ... The margin of victory was more than two goals for just the second time in 26 games between the Rangers and Bruins. ... In their nine playoff games, the Rangers have scored just twice on 35 power plays. They are 0-for-7 against the Bruins.
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Public release date: 21-May-2013
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