LONGHOUSE RESERVE AWARDED $46,756.50 GRANT FROM THE
ROBERT DAVID LION GARDINER FOUNDATION FOR OUTDOOR ART EXHIBITS
LongHouse Reserve in East Hampton has been awarded a $46,756.50 grant from the Robert David Lion Gardiner Foundation. The purpose of the grant is to allow LongHouse to expand its reach into the Eastern Long Island community and beyond with outstanding and affordable cultural and historical experiences. These community outreach efforts center on the undeserved members of the local towns of the East End, primarily the immigrant population and their children. The grant directly assists in defraying rising costs in LongHouse’s Public Art in the Gardens Program, including costs associated with art acquisition, installation, marketing and outreach.
LongHouse’s Executive Director, Matko Tomicic, says, “A grant from the Gardiner Foundation is a vote of confidence in LongHouse Reserve’s mission to illuminate the unique natural setting and artistic environment that has nurtured and inspired world renowned artists. It is a distinctive cultural designation for the region, nation and the world.”
Public Art in the Gardens is LongHouse Reserve’s year-long exhibition, the cornerstone of the art, garden and educational initiatives. It is open to the public in April and runs through December 2019. Each year, some of the art in the permanent collection is moved to different locations in the garden, providing a fresh perspective and renewed enjoyment to visitors. New art on loan from museums, galleries, artists and collectors is placed throughout the garden. Most of the art is in place for the Rites of Spring Season Opener in April. The placement and installation of the sculpture, often massive in size, is one of LongHouse’s biggest tasks and challenges.
LongHouse strives to offer the local community programming at little or no cost. Year round programs that benefit from the grant include Rites of Spring, the LongHouse season opener; Family Day, a large community outreach event; Educational Programming, in which over 3,000 schoolchildren visit LongHouse Reserve annually with teachers free of charge; the Student Annual, an art competition that is open to kindergarten through 12th grade students throughout Long Island; Hand in Hand Treasure Hunt, an activity that drives growth of children visiting LongHouse; Garden Programming, or tours of the gardens, and Collaborative Relationships, such as partnerships with other cultural institutions.
LongHouse uses its website, newsletter, and email marketing to reach its target population. The vibrant social media presence keeps visitors updated on happenings, events, and education programs. LongHouse reaches out to the undeserved members of the community with informal talks, flyers (printed in English and Spanish) and complimentary guest passes to be used during open days. LongHouse has formed an alliance with an English as a Second Language class and offers students and families complimentary bilingual tours. More than half the children who visit LongHouse are from Hispanic and African American households. Outreach events are added to all local media calendars and are featured in newspapers such as The East Hampton Star, The Independent, East Hampton Press, and Newsday.
About The Robert David Lion Gardiner Foundation
The Robert David Lion Gardiner Foundation, established in 1987, primarily supports the study of New York State history. Robert David Lion Gardiner was, until his death in August 2004, the 16th Lord of the Manor of Gardiner’s Island, NY. The Gardiner family and their descendants have owned Gardiner’s Island since 1639, obtained as part of a royal grant from King Charles I of England. The Foundation is inspired by Robert David Lion Gardiner’s personal passion for New York history.
About LongHouse Reserve
Long House Reserve in East Hampton, NY exemplifies living with art in all forms. Its collections, gardens, sculpture and programs reflect world cultures and inspire creative life. LongHouse Reserve was founded by Jack Lenor Larsen, internationally known textile designer, author and collector. His home, LongHouse, was built as a case study to exemplify a creative approach to contemporary life. Mr. Larsen believes visitors experiencing art in living spaces have a unique learning experience – more meaningful than the best media.
LongHouse Reserve 133 Hands Creek Road East Hampton, NY 11937 info@longhouse.org www.longhouse.org
Is your dog’s scratching more than “just an itch?” Actress and life-long dog lover Kate Walsh knows first-hand that dogs can be “off their game” because of allergic itching, leading to more serious problems if not treated by a veterinarian. Kate joins us today to share important info on how you can get your dog’s A-Game back.
As a lifelong dog lover, how did you know that Rosie was off her game?
Kate Walsh: She started scratching her face in sort of a cute way at first with both paws at the same time. And then it turned into a regular thing where it wouldn’t stop, and I realized pretty quickly it was probably allergies. So I took her into my veterinarian, and she prescribed Apoquel for Rosie.
How should we know when and if it’s more than an itch, and when it’s time for our pets to visit their veterinarian?
Kate Walsh: If the itching and scratching starts interrupting their regular daily activities — if they’re on a walk and they have to stop several times to scratch and itch or chew, or if they wake up in the middle of the night to chew, those are signs that there’s a problem. A lot of dog owners think oh, that’s just my dog itching but it’s likely allergies. If you see these signs, it’s a good idea to visit your veterinarian and see if Apoquel might work for you. It certainly worked for Rosie.
How should people with pets avoid allergies for some of their animals?
Kate Walsh: It’s hard to avoid allergens because so many allergies are environmental and are out of our control – just like humans with pollens or grasses, or during certain times of the year. For some dogs it’s seasonal allergies, some are perpetual and year-round. There’s really no way to prevent them so it’s about going to the veterinarian and seeing what they have to say. It’s also important to understand that dog allergies manifest differently than human allergies do. In dogs, allergies show as skin itching, chewing and hotspots – not coughing and sneezing like humans.
And how did you help Rosie get her A game back?
Kate Walsh: Well, I got her on Apoquel right away. Within a couple of days she was back on her A-game, happy, smiling, walking, tail wagging, able to relax and not scratching her face constantly. One of my favorite parts about this partnership is how we’re encouraging everyone out there to go to MyDogsAGame.com or use the hashtag #MyDogsAGame on social media to share a picture of your dog. For every photo uploaded, Zoetis will donate $10 to the K-9 Courage Program, which is an awesome program that provides medical services to retired service dogs, military service dogs, police service dogs. So that’s a really exciting aspect of this partnership as well. We’re not just raising awareness about what dog allergies look like, but really contributing and making sure all dogs are well cared for.
And what inspired you to represent an organization to help Canine Courage?
Kate Walsh: I love dogs. I’ve always loved them. I’ve grown up with them–they’re just so special and intuitive. I’m also a big fan of our service men and women and everything that they do for our country – so the partnership was a perfect fit. Most people don’t think about how retired service dogs are cared for, and the fact that the K9 Courage program helps support the medical care for retired service dogs is really cool.
So you’ve always been an advocate for pets?
Kate Walsh: Oh yeah. I have always been a big pet adoption advocate and an animal lover. I mean if I could, I’d be on a farm somewhere with lots of cats and dogs.
And where can our listeners go for more information?
Kate Walsh: You can go to MyDogsAGame.com If you have any questions, there’s actually a short quiz on there as well to help you determine if your dogs may have allergies, as well as more information about finding the right treatment like Apoquel.
About Kate Walsh
Actress, dog lover and animal rights activist Kate Walsh can be seen on recent and upcoming projects, including Netflix series, THE UMBRELLA ACADEMY, and films, SELL BY and 3022.
Walsh has starred in award-winning series, including the ABC dramas GREY’S ANATOMY and PRIVATE PRACTICE, as well as the Netflix features 13 REASONS WHY. She was seen in Universal’s hit comedy, GIRL’S TRIP, alongside Jada Pinkett Smith, Queen Latifah, and Regina Hall, the Netflix feature, #REALITYHIGH and Sony’s MARK FELT: THE MAN WHO BROUGHT DOWN THE WHITE HOUSE. She also recently starred in the off-Broadway play IF I FORGET, for which she was nominated for a Drama Desk Award and Drama League award.
Today, Walsh has teamed up with leading animal health company, Zoetis, to educate dog owners about a cause close to her heart – allergic dog itch. Walsh has credited her two rescue dogs for helping her through the most difficult times, but when her dog Rosie was diagnosed with allergic itch, it was time for Walsh to help Rosie get her A-Game back. Like Rosie, some dogs are “off their game” because their allergic itch gets in the way of doing things they love. Kate is encouraging dog owners to recognize when their dog’s scratching can be more than just an itch – and if it’s caused by an underlying condition, like allergies. As part of the program and in honor of Itchy Pet Awareness Month, pet owners can share a photo of their own pet’s “A-Game” on social media using the #MyDogsAGame hashtag, which will trigger a $10 donation (capped at $25K) by Zoetis Petcare to its K-9 Courage Program, which provides healthcare assistance to retired military and police dogs as well as active service dogs that assist veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress. Posts using the hashtag may also be featured on an interactive gallery on the “MyDogsAGame.com” website.
Line-Up Includes 4 New Models with All-Black Bezels and Striking Color Accents
Today, Casio G-SHOCK announces the all-new, “Neo Tokyo” series of men’s timepieces. Inspired by the colors of the futuristic metropolises of classic anime films from the 1980’s, the four new watches boast blacked-out bezels with yellow, red, and blue hands as dial accents to represent the city’s lights.
The series is made up of G-SHOCK’s most popular digital and analog-digital models, featuring updated styles from the DW6900, GA140, GA700, and GAS100 line ups.
The GA140BMC-1A boasts a large case design reflective of the new GA140 series, with an updated dial that includes an analog speed indicator sub-dial and LCD displays at both 6 and 12 o’clock. Boasting an extra-large case is the GA700BMC-1A, which comes with a front-facing LED light button and 3D bold hands to provide ease of use from day to night. Arriving in a mid-size digital model, the DW6900BMC-1A comes in one of the original G-SHOCK case shapes and has a built-in multi-function alarm and flash alert.
As the fourth timepiece and part of the Tough Solar GAS100 collection, the GAS100BMC-1A comes with the line’s classic stainless steel bezel, showcasing a simple design that goes well with a wide range of fashion styles. The large case size and double Super LED light provides maximum visibility in low light conditions. A video has been created to showcase the features of the new Neo Tokyo series – watch here: http://bit.ly/NeoToyko.
In addition, the GAS100 timepiece comes equipped with Tough Solar self-charging capabilities, ensuring its longevity.
Each watch in the series also boasts G-SHOCK technology such as:
● Shock Resistance
● 200M Water Resistance
● Stopwatch
● Countdown Timer
● 12/24 Hr Time Formats
The DW6900, GA140, and GA700 models retail for $99 each, and the GAS100 model will retail for $150, and will be available for purchase starting this September at select G-SHOCK retailers including Macy’s, G-SHOCK Soho Store, and gshock.com.
About G-SHOCK
CASIO’s shock-resistant G-SHOCK watch is synonymous with toughness, born from the developer Mr. Ibe’s dream of ‘creating a watch that never breaks’. Over 200 handmade samples were created and tested to destruction until finally in 1983 the first, now iconic G-SHOCK hit the streets of Japan and began to establish itself as ‘the toughest watch of all time’. Each watch encompasses the 7 elements; electric shock resistance, gravity resistance, low temperature resistance, vibration resistance, water resistance, shock resistance and toughness. The watch is packed with Casio innovations and technologies to prevent it from suffering direct shock; this includes internal components protected with urethane and suspended timekeeping modules inside the watch structure. Since its launch, G-SHOCK has continued to evolve, continuing to support on Mr. Ibe’s mantra “never, never give up.” www.gshock.com/home
About Casio America, Inc.
Casio America, Inc., Dover, N.J., is the U.S. subsidiary of Casio Computer Co., Ltd., Tokyo, Japan, one of the world’s leading manufacturers of consumer electronics and business equipment solutions. Established in 1957, Casio America, Inc. markets calculators, keyboards, mobile presentation devices, disc title and label printers, watches, cash registers and other consumer electronic products. Casio has strived to realize its corporate creed of “creativity and contribution” through the introduction of innovative and imaginative products. For more information, visit www.casiousa.com/home.
GHOST ZENITH COLLECTION THE PINNACLE OF A TIMELESS MASTERPIECE
Zenith: The highest or most successful point of anything —Oxford English Dictionary
Ingot made from 2009 Ghost concept 200EX commemorated in Ghost Zenith’s interior
Blueprint inspired artwork depicting technical data of 200EX engraved on centre console
Illuminated door pockets accent architectural elegance of interior
Contemporary complex marquetry celebrates Ghost’s dual passenger and driver nature
Collection limited to only 50 examples
Very rarely, there is a chance forcollectors of luxury to obtain anitemthatis truly atitsapex.In the context of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, these rare moments present themselvesapproximatelyonceevery 10 years.At Rolls-Royce,we celebrate ultimate craftsmanship and perfection, and when better to do sothanwhen celebrating the success and global adorationthat has been lavished on one of ourmotor carsduring itslife.
It is in this vein that, as Ghost approaches the end of its remarkable ten yeartenure,the marqueoffersto collectorsan extremely limited Zenith Collector’s Edition of Rolls-Royce Ghost.The Collectionof just 50 Zenithswill celebrate the timeless elegance of anameplatethat has become the cornerstone of contemporary Rolls-Royce Motor Cars.In true keeping with its name,the Ghost Zenith Collection will feature the highest levels of Bespoke ever seen on a Ghost Collection car.
The onlypreviousoccasionon which discerning collectors around the world have been afforded thisprivilegewaswhenan equallylimited number of Phantom VII Zeniths werecreatedin 2016to celebrate the end of itsextraordinarilylong andsuccessfulreign. These motor cars immediately became highlycollectable andsought after, re-setting the barof luxuryand in doing so, creating a modern legend.
Ghost is aluxury iconthat carrieswith itarich andextraordinary past.FromtheSilver Ghost, the motor car that established the moniker of ‘The Best Car in the World’over one hundred years ago, to200EX, theexperimentalcar thatintroducedthe concept ofa contemporary expression of this nameplateat the Geneva Motor Show in 2008,Ghosthas offeredpatrons of the marque amodern, lithe anddriver–focused Rolls-Royce. Whenproduction ofGhost beganin 2009,patronsacross the world were drawn to its elegant lines and dynamic offering and itquickly became,and remainsto this day,the most successful Rolls-Roycemotor carever to be built, attractinganew groupof young entrepreneurs to the marque.Indeed, the reduction in average age ofaRolls-Royce customer to around 43 is in part testamentto Ghost’sglobalsuccess.
Torsten Müller-Ötvös, Chief Executive Officer, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, commented,“TheGhost ZenithCollectionpresents an entirely forward-looking study of the unique characteristics that haveseen Ghost ascend to the status of the most progressive super-luxury saloon ever conceived.This unique Collection provides patrons of the marque witha rareopportunity to own amotor cartrulyevocative of our time. Ghost is the most successfulRolls-Royce ever created and theZenithCollection marks an important milestone in ourmodernhistory.”
When shown at Geneva in 2008,200EX introduced aconceptthat was both driver and passenger focused. The Ghost Zenith Collection draws many references from 200EX, with perhaps the mostsignificant being the inclusion of acommemorativeingot, made from the original 200EX Spirit of Ecstasy, melted down and set intothe centre consoleof each of the 50Zeniths. Engraved with thethreekeydesignlines of Ghost,theplaque details its significant origins.The Collection’s own Spirit of Ecstasyand clock areengraved with the name of this highly anticipated collection.
Furthermore, 200EX isimmortalizedin acomplexengraving on the centre consoleof Ghost Zenith.A blueprint inspired artworkenlarged to apoint of abstraction has beendivided into 50distinct parts,allowing each GhostZenithcustomer theirown personaland individualwork of art, while at the same time uniting the collection as a group homage to Ghost.
One’seye is naturally drawn to theinterior of theCollection’s doors,owing to theilluminated door pockets.Ambient light emits throughperforated leatherenhancingthe architectural elegance of Ghost’s interior.One will also encounter a complex piece of marquetry, created by the master craftsmen and women in the marque’s legendarywood shop.Availablein eitherwood, Technicalfibre or piano finished veneer, the door marquetrytransitionsfromthe driver’ssuiteto passengersuite, emphasizing the dual nature to Ghost.
Members of the Bespoke Collective from the Home of Rolls-Royce’sleather shoptoo have beenperfectingtheir art. The rear seatsfeatureembroiderythattakes its inspiration from the seatdetails of the original1907Silver Ghost.This embroidery elegantly transitions from the rear to the front of the cabin, and inthe case of the Extended WheelbaseZenith, the headliner thrustspurposefully forward into the poised silhouette of the Spirit of Ecstasy.The seats themselves are accentuated in a contrasting leather,accenting Ghost as the ultimate four seat limousine.
Occupants of the Ghost Zenith StandardWheelbase will experience an extraordinary phenomenon.The famed starlight headliner is presented in a unique ShootingStar configuration. Shooting starsfireat randomacross the cabinroof, adding an extraordinary sense of theatre. This surprise and delight feature consists of over 1,340 individually mapped and hand-woven fibre optic lights.
Reminiscent of its Phantom counterpart, The Ghost Zenith Collection’s exterior styling takesona new interpretation of its own–aspecialtwo-tone application with a gloss–contrast paint finish. Patrons mayselectthreedifferent colour-ways, Iguazu Blue with Andalusian White, Premiere Silver with Arctic White or a daring Bohemian Red with Black Diamond, with multiplevariantsavailable highlighting the flexibility of the model. The Silver Satinbonnet was first seen on 200EX.
Theseextraordinary motor cars, which represent the final opportunity to acquire thislandmark,transformative luxury product,are currently beinghand-crafted at The Home of Rolls-Royce in Goodwood, West Sussex, an establishment recognised asthe world’s premiereGlobal Centre ofLuxuryManufacturing Excellence. The order books for this seminal Collection will close imminently.
Thin, flexible fibers made of carbon nanotubes have now proven able to bridge damaged heart tissues and deliver the electrical signals needed to keep those hearts beating.
At Texas Heart Institute (THI) report they have used biocompatible fibers invented at Rice University in studies that showed sewing them directly into damaged tissue can restore electrical function to hearts.
“Instead of shocking and defibrillating, we are actually correcting diseased conduction of the largest major pumping chamber of the heart by creating a bridge to bypass and conduct over a scarred area of a damaged heart,” said Dr. Mehdi Razavi, a cardiologist and director of Electrophysiology Clinical Research and Innovations at THI, who co-led the study with Rice chemical and biomolecular engineer Matteo Pasquali.
“Today there is no technology that treats the underlying cause of the No. 1 cause of sudden death, ventricular arrhythmias,” Razavi said. “These arrhythmias are caused by the disorganized firing of impulses from the heart’s lower chambers and are challenging to treat in patients after a heart attack or with scarred heart tissue due to such other conditions as congestive heart failure or dilated cardiomyopathy.”
Results of the studies on preclinical models appear as an open-access Editor’s Pick in the American Heart Association’s Circulation: Arrhythmia and Electrophysiology. The association helped fund the research with a 2015 grant. The research springs from the pioneering 2013 invention by Pasquali’s lab of a method to make conductive fibers out of carbon nanotubes. The lab’s first threadlike fibers were a quarter of the width of a human hair, but contained tens of millions of microscopic nanotubes. The fibers are also being studied for electrical interfaces with the brain, for use in cochlear implants, as flexible antennas and for automotive and aerospace applications.
The experiments showed the nontoxic, polymer-coated fibers, with their ends stripped to serve as electrodes, were effective in restoring function during monthlong tests in large preclinical models as well as rodents, whether the initial conduction was slowed, severed or blocked, according to the researchers. The fibers served their purpose with or without the presence of a pacemaker, they found.
In the rodents, they wrote, conduction disappeared when the fibers were removed. “The reestablishment of cardiac conduction with carbon nanotube fibers has the potential to revolutionize therapy for cardiac electrical disturbances, one of the most common causes of death in the United States,” said co-lead author Mark McCauley, who carried out many of the experiments as a postdoctoral fellow at THI. He is now an assistant professor of clinical medicine at the University of Illinois College of Medicine.
“Our experiments provided the first scientific support for using a synthetic material-based treatment rather than a drug to treat the leading cause of sudden death in the U.S. and many developing countries around the world,” Razavi added. Many questions remain before the procedure can move toward human testing, Pasquali said. The researchers must establish a way to sew the fibers in place using a minimally invasive catheter, and make sure the fibers are strong and flexible enough to serve a constantly beating heart over the long term. He said they must also determine how long and wide fibers should be, precisely how much electricity they need to carry and how they would perform in the growing hearts of young patients.
“Flexibility is important because the heart is continuously pulsating and moving, so anything that’s attached to the heart’s surface is going to be deformed and flexed,” said Pasquali, who has appointments at Rice’s Brown School of Engineering and Wiess School of Natural Sciences.
“Good interfacial contact is also critical to pick up and deliver the electrical signal,” he said. “In the past, multiple materials had to be combined to attain both electrical conductivity and effective contacts. These fibers have both properties built in by design, which greatly simplifies device construction and lowers risks of long-term failure due to delamination of multiple layers or coatings.” Razavi noted that while there are many effective antiarrhythmic drugs available, they are often contraindicated in patients after a heart attack. “What is really needed therapeutically is to increase conduction,” he said. “Carbon nanotube fibers have the conductive properties of metal but are flexible enough to allow us to navigate and deliver energy to a very specific area of a delicate, damaged heart.” Rice alumna Flavia Vitale, now an assistant professor of neurology and of physical medicine and rehabilitation at the University of Pennsylvania, and Stephen Yan, a graduate student at Rice, are co-lead authors of the paper.
Co-authors are Colin Young and Julia Coco of Rice; Brian Greet of THI and Baylor St. Luke’s Medical Center; Marco Orecchioni and Lucia Delogu of the Città della Speranza Pediatric Research Institute, Padua, Italy; Abdelmotagaly Elgalad, Mathews John, Doris Taylor and Luiz Sampaio, all of THI; and Srikanth Perike of the University of Illinois at Chicago. Pasquali is the A.J. Hartsook Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, a professor of materials science and nanoengineering and of chemistry.
The American Heart Association, the Welch Foundation, the Air Force. Office of Scientific Research, the National Institutes of Health and Louis Magne supported the research.
theQoos Inc. has launched a data-based media service app platform that targets English reading K-Pop fans. Through aggregating K-Pop content, theQoos attempts to lock-in users and create communities among K-Pop fans. theQoos Inc. was established in February 2019 with a Seoul office established in April. The venture founders are composed of experienced members from Kakao, Samsung Electronics and, YG Entertainment USA. An investment by SK Group, South Korea’s third largest conglomerate, was completed earlier this year.
2019 has been yet another record-breaking year for K-Pop with BLACKPINK signing to Interscope/Universal Records and being the first K-Pop girl-group to perform at Coachella. BTS became the first Korean act to perform on “Saturday Night Live” and followed up with performances on “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert,” “Good Morning America” and “The Voice.” A new study by Hyundai Research Institute found that the boy band is worth more than $3.6 billion yearly to Korea’s economy. Both acts contributed to the “Hallyu” (or Korean wave) fanbase which is estimated to grow to 100 million fans by 2020and leading the way for other acts globally such as Monsta X and NCT. In the first half of 2019, there were over 50 concerts taking place in North America and as STYLEput it, “K-Pop is now more popular and profitable in the West than ever before.”
With the increased interest in K-Pop globally, theQoos set out to build a roadway for content by gathering as many select English-written sources of K-Pop into one feed. The idea is that fans who have an enthusiastic passion for K-Pop are called “theQoos” and want to consume all of the content that exists out there without having to search or open multiple applications. These content sources include K-Pop news sites, reputable global news sites that cover K-Pop, artists’ official social media, and YouTube but also fan-made content such as reaction videos, and fancam footage. Since many K-Pop fans usually find their news through K-Pop sites, theQoos also gathers in-depth coverage from respected major media outlets so users can see content they might not normally come across. theQoos also gathers album and concert reviews from various lesser known sites/blogs that deserve to be read as well as fan-made content that are meant to entertain and be enjoyed.
In 2018 BTS was the most tweeted about account worldwide and a tweet featuring BTS member J-Hope participating in the #InMyFeelingsChallenge was the Most Liked Tweet worldwide last year with 1.8 million Likes. Since K-Pop thrives on Twitter, we also gather many official and non-official Twitter accounts into our feed.
Users are able to “Save,” “Like,” and “Share” content but also organize the feed based on their favorite artist(s). Artist pages also include discography and links to music videos. theQoos promises this release to be their minimal viable product and has already planned for many features including in-app commenting and a community section so that Users can have “real interaction”.
MISSION STATEMENT:
theQoos is dedicated to encouraging the growth and distribution of, English language, K-Pop content, and to provide this content to fans free of charge. We want to build a bridge between K-Pop fans across the world and the content that exists in the universe. As the fan community continues to grow, we want to create a platform for them to engage with each other in a genuine way. By promoting users to enter their real information into their profiles we believe that real commentary and real interaction will create a positive space for K-Pop.
By learning who our users are and what their interests are in, we will be able to understand this community like no one has before us. Imagine a world in which every English reading K-Pop fan can freely view and share K-Pop content & be part of a community – which they can take with them, everywhere. theQoos: We are your gateway to the K-Pop Universe.
To combat the rise of drug-resistant bacteria, researchers are examining how one superbug adapts to fight an antibiotic of last resort, hoping to find clues that can prolong the drug’s effectiveness.
At Rice University and the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston ran experiments to track the biochemical changes that vancomycin-resistant Enterococci (VRE) underwent as they adapted to fight another antibiotic, daptomycin. “We need to get to a stage where we can anticipate how these pathogens will become resistant to antibiotics so we can stay one step ahead of them,” said Rice biochemist Yousif Shamoo, co-author of a study in the journal Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy that found VRE can develop resistance to daptomycin in more than one way. The stakes are high. In 2014, the World Health Organization reported that antibiotic-resistant infections were on pace to kill 10 million people per year worldwide by 2050.
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, VRE is one of the nation’s leading antibiotic resistance threats. The CDC estimated VRE will infect some 20,000 people in the U.S. this year and kill 1,300 of them. Daptomycin, an antibiotic that first became available in 2003, is one of the last drugs doctors can use to fight multidrug-resistant superbugs like VRE, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and glycopeptide resistant enterococci (GRE). Unfortunately, health officials documented cases of daptomycin resistance as early as 2005, and the number of cases is on the rise worldwide.
Shamoo said one of the principle findings of the study was that a specific strain of VRE, Enterococcus faecium, has an unusually diverse set of strategies for resisting antibiotics like daptomycin, and that diversity can make treatment of infections even more difficult. “By understanding how these pathogens acquire resistance, we can develop new treatment strategies or new ‘co-drugs’ that target their ability to become resistant,” Shamoo said. Co-drugs that target the evolution of resistance could be administered with antibiotics like daptomycin to both help patients fight off infection and stem the spread of increasingly resistant strains of bacteria in hospitals, he said.
Study lead author Amy Prater, a Ph.D. student who graduated from Rice in July, showed that the same strain of VRE could activate different biochemical pathways to activate up to three strategies, depending upon its environment. Shamoo said the multipronged strategy will make it more difficult for health officials to fight growing daptomycin resistance in VRE, but he said the results help clear up previously confusing experimental findings about VRE resistance, which is a step in the right direction. “If we understand how a pathogen acquires resistance, we can anticipate its next move, and hopefully act beforehand to cut it off,” Shamoo said. “Predictability is the key.”
Shamoo is Rice’s vice provost for research and a professor of biochemistry and cell biology in the Department of BioSciences. Additional co-authors include Heer Mehta and Abigael Kosgei of Rice and William Miller, Truc Tran and Cesar Arias of the UTHealth McGovern Medical School.
The rise of cloud computing and teleconferencing represent both the biggest opportunity for growth as well as the most significant organizational challenge to companies around the world, according to new research from Condeco’s new research paper, The Modern Workplace 2019: People, places & technology, involving 750 corporate leaders. The full report can be downloaded here. Among the countries in the survey, remote working is particularly prevalent in Australia (45 per cent) with the US tied for being the country with the second most amount of companies allowing remote work (43 percent) and least widespread is Germany (35 per cent). However, US businesses were least likely to offer flextime (49 percent), while those in Singapore were most likely (66 percent). In addition, 43 percent of US business forecast that they will allow more remote working in the next year while only 9 percent have indicated that they will offer less remote working, a clear indicator that remote working is a major trend in America. 54 percent of US companies have said that they offer remote working to increase employee retention, which showcases employees increasing demands to work from home.
While recognizing digital transformation as crucial to their future success, 60 percent of those who participated express concern over the speed with which new technologies are reshaping their businesses. They are increasingly preoccupied with issues related to cloud computing, the internet of things, and big data.These technology challenges are contributing significantly to the changing nature of the corporate environment, the report finds. Cloud computing in particular has made it possible for increasing numbers of employees to work remotely and flexibly meaning that the central company workspace is rapidly becoming an administrative hub, rather than a traditional central focus where everyone gathers during set hours. The demands of regulation and compliance are also adding to the burden felt by businesses as they face the future. Condeco’s report is based on an in-depth survey of business leaders in six countries, including the United States, backed by qualitative interviews. Respondents overall say the biggest challenges facing their organizations in the next 12 months are digital transformation (37 percent) and the adoption of new technology (35 percent).
Across all countries surveyed, access to talent supply (26 per cent) and regulation and compliance (24 per cent) are considered greater organizational challenges than business uncertainty (22 per cent). Welcome to the flexible working revolution. Almost half of global businesses surveyed (41 percent) say they already offer some degree of remote working, while three-fifths (60 percent) provide flextime opportunities, allowing employees to choose when to start and end their workday. “The research clearly shows that businesses are in the process of transforming their workplaces digitally, which enables them to transform the way that they are used physically,” said Paul Statham, CEO of Condeco.”Today’s technology allows for space to be used more flexibly and for employees to work remotely. This benefits businesses by maximizing office space, reducing costs and by keeping employees engaged and productive.”
The end of meeting-room culture? When employees do go into the office, it is most often for meetings with colleagues and customers. Yet the researchers discovered that finding, booking and using meeting rooms is a consistent point of organizational tension, even as more people are working remotely. Fewer than a quarter of those surveyed (23 percent) say that their employees have access to meeting rooms whenever they need them; however, the US leads the world with 31 percent, compared to just 9 percent in Singapore. Only a third of respondents (31 percent) currently use specialist meeting-room scheduling software to help make efficient use of their available space. Some of those surveyed believed that there was an opportunity to use artificial intelligence to book and use meeting rooms more effectively.
“AI can release individuals from routine, repetitive tasks at work and free them up for more value-adding and enriching activities. That’s why it is likely to play an important role in meeting room booking software,” said Peter Otto, Chief Product Officer at Condeco. Businesses are only just beginning to realize the extent to which the need for co-workers to meet in person is a thing of the past, as new conferencing systems enable teams to maintain real-time collaboration and conversation across vast distances and multiple time zones.“Ultimately new technology will enable businesses to allocate their resources and time more effectively,” said Otto.“There is also a role it can play in gathering data, but companies need to be aware of the ethical and privacy aspects of using it in this way and be prepared to be fully transparent in communicating what they are doing to their employees.”
US leaders prepare for the future While a fifth of business leaders worldwide (22 per cent) said that uncertainty was a concern for them, less than one fifth of American business leaders (16 percent) echoed this. The most-common concern for US respondents is technology adoption (45 percent) and talent supply (30 percent), suggesting that businesses are expecting these to be major issues over the next year. Only 11 percent of US business cited access to capital as their top organizational concern.
Rose infused citrus spritz with mango chunks and crushed wild berries and sweetened with passionfruit puree and agave. Shaken and strained, and garnished with a lemon wheel.
The Heirloom Pear
Green pears and marinate in white wine. Add mint, 2oz green apple puree. Shake over ice, strain, topped with prosecco. Pour in kedem Chablis and garnished fresh pear heart.
Refreshing craft cocktails from new Upper West Side hot spot Arba. With a Mediterranean-focused menu and variety of kosher and gluten free offerings, Abra fashions seven signature cocktails with flavors of apricot, fig, lavender and pomegranate each with different vitamins and various health benefits.
