Thursday, May 31, 2012

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Wednesday, May 30, 2012

After 25 years, World No Tobacco Day is making an impact

After 25 years, World No Tobacco Day is making an impact [ Back to EurekAlert! ] Public release date: 29-May-2012
[ | E-mail | Share Share ]

Contact: Tim Parsons
tmparson@jhsph.edu
410-955-7619
Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health

May 31 marks the 25th anniversary of World No Tobacco Day, but does the day really inspire anyone to think about quitting smoking? Yes it does, according to a new study led by investigators from the Informatics Program at Children's Hospital Boston and Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. For the study, the research team monitored news promoting cessation and Internet search queries indicative of cessation for six years in seven Latin American nations. Cessation news coverage and Internet search queries for cessation peaked on World No Tobacco Day, increasing as much as 83 percent and 84 percent compared to a typical day, respectively. Their findings appear in the May/June issue of Journal of Medical Internet Research.

"After 25 years we didn't know if World No Tobacco Day was having a significant public health impact," said John W. Ayers, lead author of the study, Children's Hospital faculty member and recent graduate of the Bloomberg School of Public Health. "Frankly, given the proliferation of awareness days, we were surprised to find large spikes pointing to interest in cessation."

Senior analyst and Bloomberg doctoral candidate Benjamin Althouse noted, "We generally think of New Year's Day as the peak time when media encourages quitting and smokers want to quit. World No Tobacco Day spikes, however, often outsized New Year's increases, like a second-chance quitting resolution."

"People who live in low-and middle-income countries comprise a majority of the deaths from the global tobacco epidemic. Our study provides initial evidence that World No Tobacco Day encourages cessation awareness and cessation interest in these countries," said Joanna Cohen, PhD, who leads the Bloomberg School'sInstitute for Global Tobacco Control. "The majority of smokers do want to quit, and World No Tobacco Day is an effective reminder and inspiration."

"Almost 6 million people die each year from tobacco including 600,000 from second-hand smoke. Anything that helps people quit tobacco is a life-saver," said Douglas Bettcher, director of WHO's Tobacco Free Initiative. "This research encourages all of us to continue the long fight against tobacco. But we should never let down our guard against the tobacco industry's devious tactics to undo the public health gains we have been able to make."

The authors note these increases have potentially large health implications. Jon-Patrick Allem, study coauthor and USC Keck Medicine affiliate said, "To otherwise achieve these kinds of increases, countries would have to raise cigarette taxes 2.8 percent every year; this is likely undoable year in and year out, unlike the way World No Tobacco Day delivers.

Daniel Ford, professor of Epidemiology at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Kurt Ribisl, professor of Public Heath at UNC's Gillings Global School of Public Health, also contributed to the published report.

###

The research was supported by the Institute for Global Tobacco Control with funding from the Bloomberg Initiative to Reduce Tobacco Use.


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After 25 years, World No Tobacco Day is making an impact [ Back to EurekAlert! ] Public release date: 29-May-2012
[ | E-mail | Share Share ]

Contact: Tim Parsons
tmparson@jhsph.edu
410-955-7619
Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health

May 31 marks the 25th anniversary of World No Tobacco Day, but does the day really inspire anyone to think about quitting smoking? Yes it does, according to a new study led by investigators from the Informatics Program at Children's Hospital Boston and Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. For the study, the research team monitored news promoting cessation and Internet search queries indicative of cessation for six years in seven Latin American nations. Cessation news coverage and Internet search queries for cessation peaked on World No Tobacco Day, increasing as much as 83 percent and 84 percent compared to a typical day, respectively. Their findings appear in the May/June issue of Journal of Medical Internet Research.

"After 25 years we didn't know if World No Tobacco Day was having a significant public health impact," said John W. Ayers, lead author of the study, Children's Hospital faculty member and recent graduate of the Bloomberg School of Public Health. "Frankly, given the proliferation of awareness days, we were surprised to find large spikes pointing to interest in cessation."

Senior analyst and Bloomberg doctoral candidate Benjamin Althouse noted, "We generally think of New Year's Day as the peak time when media encourages quitting and smokers want to quit. World No Tobacco Day spikes, however, often outsized New Year's increases, like a second-chance quitting resolution."

"People who live in low-and middle-income countries comprise a majority of the deaths from the global tobacco epidemic. Our study provides initial evidence that World No Tobacco Day encourages cessation awareness and cessation interest in these countries," said Joanna Cohen, PhD, who leads the Bloomberg School'sInstitute for Global Tobacco Control. "The majority of smokers do want to quit, and World No Tobacco Day is an effective reminder and inspiration."

"Almost 6 million people die each year from tobacco including 600,000 from second-hand smoke. Anything that helps people quit tobacco is a life-saver," said Douglas Bettcher, director of WHO's Tobacco Free Initiative. "This research encourages all of us to continue the long fight against tobacco. But we should never let down our guard against the tobacco industry's devious tactics to undo the public health gains we have been able to make."

The authors note these increases have potentially large health implications. Jon-Patrick Allem, study coauthor and USC Keck Medicine affiliate said, "To otherwise achieve these kinds of increases, countries would have to raise cigarette taxes 2.8 percent every year; this is likely undoable year in and year out, unlike the way World No Tobacco Day delivers.

Daniel Ford, professor of Epidemiology at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Kurt Ribisl, professor of Public Heath at UNC's Gillings Global School of Public Health, also contributed to the published report.

###

The research was supported by the Institute for Global Tobacco Control with funding from the Bloomberg Initiative to Reduce Tobacco Use.


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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.


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Things to Decide Before Choosing a Kitchen Cabinet Design











While thinking about the finished basement ideas of the homes, kitchen cabinets are the first thing that comes into mind. The appearance of the kitchen can be fulfilled only through the designs and themes of the cabinets. There are several designs of kitchen cabinets were available to choose for. Also there are numerous options are there to fulfill your needs on installing a new one or updating your old type.

Kitchen cabinets were not only for storage purposes. The style of the kitchen is defined through the cabinets that play an important role on increasing the face value of the homes. The style and designs of the cabinets includes variety of materials such as wooden doors, knobs and finishing options. The price of the cabinets differed according to the types whether it was a semi custom cabinet or full custom cabinet. When it comes to the storage drawers, there were two types. Rolling out drawers and tilting drawers. Cabinets with automatic closing and made up of stainless steel were also available.

As there are several types and designs available through the custom cabinet makers you do not have to worry whether the color and the shape of the kitchen room is suitable for the design you choose. Solid wood cabinets were the one which are recommended widely because of its best quality and its style. Wooden cabinets are made up of few types woods. Once after deciding upon the type of the wood you wish to make your cabinet then you can decide whether it should be frameless or framed.

Mostly all of us are not capable of purchasing costlier woods for making the cabinets. Therefore as an alternative for these costlier woods, pre painted cabinets were designed that are suitable for your kitchen style and color. The paints come in multiple colors and are over coated with varnish in order to protect the finishing. For instance you can check out the custom kitchen cabinets Novi MI. According to the themes of the homes the cabinets were also available. For instance you can get a vintage style cabinet if your home is also a vintage styled one.

Once the outer appearance of the cabinet is decided then you can look after the inner appearances and the available features. Some cabinets come with drawers and bins for storage purposes. The bins were separated by a silverware divider or by a wooden one. Sliding racks also available in which you can easily find the stored can foods and other ingredients. Types such as custom built in cabinets Plymouth Michigan and kitchen cabinet designs Northville is not only for kitchen purposes. Even you can make it as your television cabinet or library thing.

While having huge varieties and types of the cabinet's available including kitchen and bath West Bloomfield, choosing one according to your wish and your budget is not so easiest thing. To decide upon one, first you have to determine what type of cabinet you need and whether it suits your requirements. Then you have to be sure it comes within your budget. Once you get all this done then definitely you will get a fulfilled kitchen that accompanies the overall beauty of your home.

Almar Carpentry, Inc. is considered as the best among the custom cabinet makers of Michigan. You can find kitchen cabinet designs even according to the location wise such as kitchen and bath West Bloomfield and custom built in cabinets Plymouth Michigan. To know more kindly explore their website.

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Tuesday, May 29, 2012

Berkeley Lab and CalCEF galvanize California's battery industry

Berkeley Lab and CalCEF galvanize California's battery industry [ Back to EurekAlert! ] Public release date: 29-May-2012
[ | E-mail | Share Share ]

Contact: Julie Chao
JHChao@lbl.gov
510-486-6491
DOE/Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

New partnership, CalCharge, to foster California's blossoming battery innovation ecosystem

CalCEF, which creates institutions and investment vehicles for the clean energy economy, and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) today announced a partnership to launch CalCharge, a consortium uniting California's emerging and established battery technology companies with critical academic and government resources. By bringing together the dozens of battery companies and institutions in California working on applications for consumer electronics batteries, electric/hybrid vehicle transportation and the electric grid, Berkeley Lab, CalCEF, along with other Bay Area academic institutions, aim to create a regional ecosystem for innovation in energy storage that will not only jumpstart a new era of battery technologies but also help ensure that U.S. companies succeed in this highly competitive environment.

"The next decade will be critical for this industry and this region," said Berkeley Lab Director Paul Alivisatos. "With our highly regarded battery scientists and state-of-the-art equipment at Berkeley Lab, the CalCharge consortium will be able to leverage these resources to enable the development of battery solutions for electric transportation and other clean energy applications in California."

CalCharge is a first-of-its-kind public-private partnership working to accelerate the timeline of energy storage commercialization and market adoption through technology assistance, workforce training and market education. Members will have access to Berkeley Lab's world-class scientific facilities and personnel, including testing and diagnostics equipment not available to many start-up companies. CalCharge offers a streamlined and more affordable channel for Cooperative Research and Development Agreements (CRADAs) and similar arrangements. These allow firms to access technical resources at the Lab, which will help scale battery innovations from the bench to the market.

"To broadly scale renewable energy requires tackling the challenges of energy storage, and no technical community is better suited to those challenges than California's battery engineers and scientists," said Dan Adler, CalCEF's president. "The companies and organizations that make up CalCharge will be central to forging a renewable energy future."

California has emerged as the epicenter of battery innovation in the U.S., with more than 30 startups and large companies concentrated in the Bay Area alone. The state has consistently led battery technology patent registrations, reaching 258 filings from 2008 to 2010more than the next three leading states combinedaccording to the 2012 California Green Innovation Index, an annual economic filing published by Next 10. What's more, in 2011 venture capital investment in energy storage grew thirteen-fold over the previous year, making up 11 percent of the total VC investment in clean technology for the state.

"There's a lot of battery know-how in California, specifically the Bay Area, but technology startups need an ecosystem to thrive," said Venkat Srinivasan, head of Berkeley Lab's energy storage research program. "The Berkeley Lab battery program, long known for its deep expertise in solving the problems in advanced batteries, is ideally positioned to work with battery companies in the region. We look forward to building this ecosystem with CalCharge."

A thriving regional ecosystem for battery development requires contributions from diverse partners, including companies involved in advanced battery technology, customers who will use that technology, and research institutions that can offer expertise and equipment to accelerate development of new technology as well as an educated workforce poolall supported by local governments that will provide the policies and incentives to foster a regional energy storage industry.

"We wanted to start CalCharge because we know that emerging energy storage companies are facing a complex market and major technical challenges," said Doug Davenport, co-lead of the CalCharge initiative at Berkeley Lab. "CalCEF is an ideal partner for us because they bring a focus on policy and markets that truly complements our science and technology orientation."

Cheaper and higher-performing batteries are critical to our nation's clean energy futureunderscored by the White House's call for decreasing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and putting one million electric vehicles on the road by 2015. Nationwide efforts are also underway to modernize our antiquated electric grid for increased renewable energy integration and grid-scale batteries are an essential element. California has also made strides to support battery technology development this year. It adopted the world's first energy efficiency standards for battery chargers and enacted the second round of the Advanced Clean Car Rules, which targets a 34 percent reduction in GHG emissions from 2016 levels by 2025.

###

CalCEF and Berkeley Lab will be presenting the CalCharge launch at the Silicon Valley Energy Storage Symposium, Wednesday, May 30 at 9:40 am. Please direct CalCharge membership inquiries to dtdavenport@lbl.gov

About CalCEF

CalCEF works to promote the transition to a clean energy economy by creating institutions and investment vehicles that grow markets for clean energy technologies. CalCEF is a non-profit umbrella organization that pursues statewide and national agendas via two affiliated entities governed by separate boards of directors comprised of prominent policy makers, scientists, entrepreneurs, and financial professionals. CalCEF Innovations, a 501(c)(3), leads CalCEF's analysis and product development, designing real-world solutionsmarket strategies, business models, and public policiesthat rapidly advance clean energy adoption. The California Clean Energy Fund, a 501(c) (4), executes and scales the CalCEF investment strategy via a fund-of-funds model, partnering with leading investment managers. For more information, please visit www.calcef.org.

About Berkeley Lab

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory addresses the world's most urgent scientific challenges by advancing sustainable energy, protecting human health, creating new materials, and revealing the origin and fate of the universe. Founded in 1931, Berkeley Lab's scientific expertise has been recognized with 13 Nobel prizes. The University of California manages Berkeley Lab for the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Science. For more, visit www.lbl.gov.


[ Back to EurekAlert! ] [ | E-mail | Share 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.


Berkeley Lab and CalCEF galvanize California's battery industry [ Back to EurekAlert! ] Public release date: 29-May-2012
[ | E-mail | Share Share ]

Contact: Julie Chao
JHChao@lbl.gov
510-486-6491
DOE/Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

New partnership, CalCharge, to foster California's blossoming battery innovation ecosystem

CalCEF, which creates institutions and investment vehicles for the clean energy economy, and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) today announced a partnership to launch CalCharge, a consortium uniting California's emerging and established battery technology companies with critical academic and government resources. By bringing together the dozens of battery companies and institutions in California working on applications for consumer electronics batteries, electric/hybrid vehicle transportation and the electric grid, Berkeley Lab, CalCEF, along with other Bay Area academic institutions, aim to create a regional ecosystem for innovation in energy storage that will not only jumpstart a new era of battery technologies but also help ensure that U.S. companies succeed in this highly competitive environment.

"The next decade will be critical for this industry and this region," said Berkeley Lab Director Paul Alivisatos. "With our highly regarded battery scientists and state-of-the-art equipment at Berkeley Lab, the CalCharge consortium will be able to leverage these resources to enable the development of battery solutions for electric transportation and other clean energy applications in California."

CalCharge is a first-of-its-kind public-private partnership working to accelerate the timeline of energy storage commercialization and market adoption through technology assistance, workforce training and market education. Members will have access to Berkeley Lab's world-class scientific facilities and personnel, including testing and diagnostics equipment not available to many start-up companies. CalCharge offers a streamlined and more affordable channel for Cooperative Research and Development Agreements (CRADAs) and similar arrangements. These allow firms to access technical resources at the Lab, which will help scale battery innovations from the bench to the market.

"To broadly scale renewable energy requires tackling the challenges of energy storage, and no technical community is better suited to those challenges than California's battery engineers and scientists," said Dan Adler, CalCEF's president. "The companies and organizations that make up CalCharge will be central to forging a renewable energy future."

California has emerged as the epicenter of battery innovation in the U.S., with more than 30 startups and large companies concentrated in the Bay Area alone. The state has consistently led battery technology patent registrations, reaching 258 filings from 2008 to 2010more than the next three leading states combinedaccording to the 2012 California Green Innovation Index, an annual economic filing published by Next 10. What's more, in 2011 venture capital investment in energy storage grew thirteen-fold over the previous year, making up 11 percent of the total VC investment in clean technology for the state.

"There's a lot of battery know-how in California, specifically the Bay Area, but technology startups need an ecosystem to thrive," said Venkat Srinivasan, head of Berkeley Lab's energy storage research program. "The Berkeley Lab battery program, long known for its deep expertise in solving the problems in advanced batteries, is ideally positioned to work with battery companies in the region. We look forward to building this ecosystem with CalCharge."

A thriving regional ecosystem for battery development requires contributions from diverse partners, including companies involved in advanced battery technology, customers who will use that technology, and research institutions that can offer expertise and equipment to accelerate development of new technology as well as an educated workforce poolall supported by local governments that will provide the policies and incentives to foster a regional energy storage industry.

"We wanted to start CalCharge because we know that emerging energy storage companies are facing a complex market and major technical challenges," said Doug Davenport, co-lead of the CalCharge initiative at Berkeley Lab. "CalCEF is an ideal partner for us because they bring a focus on policy and markets that truly complements our science and technology orientation."

Cheaper and higher-performing batteries are critical to our nation's clean energy futureunderscored by the White House's call for decreasing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and putting one million electric vehicles on the road by 2015. Nationwide efforts are also underway to modernize our antiquated electric grid for increased renewable energy integration and grid-scale batteries are an essential element. California has also made strides to support battery technology development this year. It adopted the world's first energy efficiency standards for battery chargers and enacted the second round of the Advanced Clean Car Rules, which targets a 34 percent reduction in GHG emissions from 2016 levels by 2025.

###

CalCEF and Berkeley Lab will be presenting the CalCharge launch at the Silicon Valley Energy Storage Symposium, Wednesday, May 30 at 9:40 am. Please direct CalCharge membership inquiries to dtdavenport@lbl.gov

About CalCEF

CalCEF works to promote the transition to a clean energy economy by creating institutions and investment vehicles that grow markets for clean energy technologies. CalCEF is a non-profit umbrella organization that pursues statewide and national agendas via two affiliated entities governed by separate boards of directors comprised of prominent policy makers, scientists, entrepreneurs, and financial professionals. CalCEF Innovations, a 501(c)(3), leads CalCEF's analysis and product development, designing real-world solutionsmarket strategies, business models, and public policiesthat rapidly advance clean energy adoption. The California Clean Energy Fund, a 501(c) (4), executes and scales the CalCEF investment strategy via a fund-of-funds model, partnering with leading investment managers. For more information, please visit www.calcef.org.

About Berkeley Lab

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory addresses the world's most urgent scientific challenges by advancing sustainable energy, protecting human health, creating new materials, and revealing the origin and fate of the universe. Founded in 1931, Berkeley Lab's scientific expertise has been recognized with 13 Nobel prizes. The University of California manages Berkeley Lab for the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Science. For more, visit www.lbl.gov.


[ Back to EurekAlert! ] [ | E-mail | Share 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.


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The Consumer: Waking Up to Major Colonoscopy Bills

Patients who undergo colonoscopy usually receive anesthesia of some sort in order to ?sleep? through the procedure. But as one Long Island couple discovered recently, it can be a very expensive nap.

Both husband and wife selected gastroenterologists who participated in their insurance plan to perform their cancer screenings. But in both cases, the gastroenterologists chose full anesthesia with Propofol, a powerful drug that must be administered by an anesthesiologist, instead of moderate, or ?conscious,? sedation that often gastroenterologists can administer themselves.

And in both cases, the gastroenterologists were assisted in the procedure by anesthesiologists who were not covered by the couple?s insurance. They billed the couple?s insurance at rates far higher than any plan would reimburse ? two to four times as high, experts say.

Now the couple, Lawrence LaRose and Susan LaMontagne, of Sag Harbor, N.Y., are fending off lawyers and a debt collection agency, and facing thousands of dollars in unresolved charges. All this for a cancer screening test that public health officials say every American should have by age 50, and repeat every 10 years, to save lives ? and money.

?Doctors adopt practices that cost more, insurers pay less, and patients get stuck with a tab that in many cases is inflated and arbitrary,? said Ms. LaMontagne, whose communications firm, Public Interest Media Group, is focused on health care. ?I work on health care access issues every day, so if I?m having a hard time sorting this out, what does that say for other consumers???

More than 20 million outpatient endoscopy procedures are performed in the United States each year, and the number is growing. A few hardy patients decide that they do not need anesthesia at all. Most receive conscious sedation, a combination of drugs that block pain and help patients relax while remaining conscious; three gastroenterology societies recommend this option as adequate in cases where there are no complications.

Still, a growing number of patients appear to be receiving full anesthesia. Some gastroenterologists say that patients recover more easily after full anesthesia and that the exam is better. But there is no clear scientific evidence to support this, and critics say that an extra pair of hands in the room simply allows the doctor to perform more procedures.

According to a study by the RAND Corporation, published this year in The Journal of the American Medical Association, use of anesthesia administered by an anesthesiologist or nurse anesthetist during outpatient gastroenterology procedures, mostly colonoscopies, has more than doubled in recent years, to more than 30 percent in 2009 from 14 percent in 2003. Most of the increase occurred among low-risk patients who could do without the expensive service. But the practice varies from region to region: Only 13 percent of gastrointestinal procedures in the West involved an anesthesiologist or nurse anesthetist, compared with 59 percent in the Northeast, the study found.

As much as $1.1 billion spent on anesthesia for gastrointestinal procedures each year may not be medically necessary, the researchers concluded. Insurers often foot the bill for full anesthesia, but not always.

Mr. LaRose, 48, said that he did not want to have full anesthesia in the first place. After his first consultation with the doctor, he said, he called his gastroenterologist?s office and told a staff member of his preference.

But when he showed up for the colonoscopy on June 24, 2010, his doctor, Dr. Kristin Patrick Naso, told him the procedure is normally done with Propofol, which requires an anesthesiologist. By then Mr. LaRose had already spent 24 hours fasting and going through the unpleasant cleansing preparation, he said.

Mr. LaRose said he relented after the doctors assured him that anesthesiology would be covered. ?You?re starving and gaseous and you just want to get the whole thing over with,? Mr. LaRose said.

In an interview, Dr. Naso said his office provided all patients with a notice saying that the anesthesiologist might not be covered by insurance and providing the anesthesiologist?s phone number for more information.

Although Dr. Naso was in network and accepted payment from Mr. LaRose?s insurer as payment in full, the anesthesiologist, Dr. Michael Rus, billed $1,600 for the procedure. He was reimbursed $588 by the plan and, after failing to collect the remainder from Mr. LaRose, sent the balance to bill collectors.

Dr. Rus did not respond to requests for comment.

It was a similar situation when Ms. LaMontagne went for her colonoscopy. She said she told Dr. Michael Krumholz in Manhattan about her husband?s experience and her concerns about a lack of coverage for full anesthesia. She said she was not told about conscious sedation, which is not available at his practice. Instead, Ms. LaMontagne said, she was told that full anesthesia was standard practice. She went ahead with the procedure in February.

Dr. Krumholz accepted $192 from Ms. LaMontagne?s insurance company, Freelancers Insurance Company, which is affiliated with the Freelancers Union. But the insurer rejected the bill from the anesthesiologist, Dr. Joanne Goldman, because she is out of network.

So Dr. Goldman?s charge was sent to Ms. LaMontagne: $2,800. She called Dr. Krumholz?s office to ask about this charge and any others of which she might be unaware. She said she was told there would also be an additional ?facility fee? of $1,800 charged by the endoscopy clinic.

In an interview, Dr. Goldman said she did not do the billing herself and could not address questions about it.

In an e-mail, Dr. Krumholz said that he tells all of his patients about the risks and benefits of colonoscopy, as well as alternatives to the procedure, and of the benefits of and alternatives to anesthesia. He will perform the procedure without anesthesia if the patient so chooses, he said, but his practice does not offer conscious sedation, nor do ?most modern endoscopy facilities in New York.?

Jordan Fowler, chief executive of Frontier Healthcare and business manager of the endoscopy center where Dr. Krumholz practices, said Ms. LaMontagne ?should not lose sleep? over the charges because the anesthesiologists in the group are about to become in-network providers.

Asked whether a $2,800 charge is reasonable for about 30 minutes of anesthesia, he said, ?You bill a high fee to negotiate with an insurance company.?

Sara Horowitz, founder and executive director of the Freelancers Union, said the trend toward using two doctors for a colonoscopy is ?outrageous, when we have another perfectly good kind of anesthesia, twilight sleep, that the GI can do him- or herself.?

But there?s a bigger problem for consumers here, too. Many physicians who are not the primary contact with patients ? like pathologists and radiologists as well as anesthesiologists ? do not participate in health insurance plans. When they provide medical services at hospitals or outpatient centers, their charges may not be covered, or may be only partly covered, leaving even well-insured people with large, unexpected bills.

So, what to do if you need a colonoscopy?

CONSIDER ALTERNATIVES Other recommended colon cancer screening methods include the fecal occult blood test, which involves collecting stool samples at home, and sigmoidoscopy, in which a long, flexible tube with a tiny video camera is used to examine the lower colon. Indeed, a study published in The New England Journal of Medicine last week found that patients who underwent sigmoidoscopy had lower rates of colon cancer and lower cancer death rates.

PLAN AHEAD You know when you?ll be turning 50, so estimate your costs in advance and put money away in a health savings account, so at least you?re not paying taxes on it. (Remember, you may lose the money if you don?t use it.)

ASK QUESTIONS When speaking with your gastroenterologist about the procedure, find out what kind of anesthesia will be used and who is going to administer it. If he or she insists on an anesthesiologist or a nurse anesthetist, you have two options: find a gastroenterologist who administers sedation on his or her own, or make sure the anesthesiologist is covered by your plan.


We hope you?ll ?Like? the new Well on Facebook, where you?ll find news and conversations about fitness, food and family health.

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Poll: Veterans Overwhelmingly Favor Romney for President

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Monday, May 28, 2012

Video: Summer means creepy crawlers

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Mark Zuckerberg makes surprise cameo on Chinese TV

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AP IMPACT: Almost half of new vets seek disability

ADVANCE FOR USE MONDAY, MAY 28, 2012 AND THEREAFTER - FILE - In this Saturday, April 14, 2012 file photo, Army Pvt. Randy Donovan is hugged by his mother, Twila Donovan, upon arriving at the Crossroads Christian Church in Hutchinson, Kan. for a welcome home party. Donovan was injured by an IED in Afghanistan in November 2011. His injuries included a fractured vertebra in his neck, a broken upper jaw and broken radius in his right elbow. He also had shrapnel wounds to his upper body and two broken vertebrae in his back. Donovan received a Purple Heart. The cost of veterans' benefits and health care peaks decades after a war ends, says Harvard University economist Linda Bilmes. These peaked in 1969 for veterans from World War I and in the 1980s for World War II. They haven't peaked yet for Vietnam veterans. (AP Photo/The Hutchinson News, Lindsey Bauman)

ADVANCE FOR USE MONDAY, MAY 28, 2012 AND THEREAFTER - FILE - In this Saturday, April 14, 2012 file photo, Army Pvt. Randy Donovan is hugged by his mother, Twila Donovan, upon arriving at the Crossroads Christian Church in Hutchinson, Kan. for a welcome home party. Donovan was injured by an IED in Afghanistan in November 2011. His injuries included a fractured vertebra in his neck, a broken upper jaw and broken radius in his right elbow. He also had shrapnel wounds to his upper body and two broken vertebrae in his back. Donovan received a Purple Heart. The cost of veterans' benefits and health care peaks decades after a war ends, says Harvard University economist Linda Bilmes. These peaked in 1969 for veterans from World War I and in the 1980s for World War II. They haven't peaked yet for Vietnam veterans. (AP Photo/The Hutchinson News, Lindsey Bauman)

ADVANCE FOR USE MONDAY, MAY 28, 2012 AND THEREAFTER - FILE - In this Tuesday, Aug. 2, 2011 file photo, Stephanie Childers, right, follows behind as her husband, Marine Lance Cpl. Caleb Childers, makes his way back to his room at the McGuire Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Richmond, Va. Childers, 20, was injured when he stepped on an IED in Afghanistan while on patrol June 30, 2011. A record number of new veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan are seeking compensation for service-related disabilities. So far, 45 percent have filed claims, more than double the 21 percent that did after some other recent wars. (AP Photo/Richmond Times Dispatch, Eva Russo)

ADVANCE FOR USE MONDAY, MAY 28, 2012 AND THEREAFTER - In this March 19, 2010 photo, former Navy corpsman Ryan McNabb, being treated for PTSD, poses for a portrait at his childhood home where he and his family live with his parents in Winthrop Harbor, Ill. After two stints in Iraq, McNabb, 29, works as an outreach coordinator for a Vet Center in suburban Chicago. America has a new generation of veterans. More than 1.6 million troops are back from the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Mental health is a big concern. More than half of the new veterans who have sought care through the VA were diagnosed with a mental disorder. In more than 217,000 cases it was post-traumatic stress syndrome, or PTSD. Nearly 165,000 were diagnosed with depression.(AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)

EMBARGOED FOR RELEASE ON MONDAY, MAY 28, 2012, AT 12:01 A.M. EDT - In this Tuesday, May 22, 2012 photo, Marine Cpl. Larry Bailey II, of Zion, Ill shows the tattoos on his arm at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Md. After tripping a rooftop bomb in Afghanistan in June 2011, the 26-year-old Marine remembers flying into the air, then fellow troops attending to him. Bailey, who ended up a triple amputee, expects to get a hand transplant this summer. A staggering 45 percent of the 1.6 million veterans from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are now seeking compensation for disabilities they say are service-related - more than double the 21 percent who filed such claims after some previous wars, according to top government officials. The new veterans have different types of injuries than previous veterans did, in part because improvised bombs have been the main weapon and because body armor and improved battlefield care allowed many of them to survive wounds that in past wars proved fatal. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

EMBARGOED FOR RELEASE ON MONDAY, MAY 28, 2012, AT 12:01 A.M. EDT - This Tuesday, May 22, 2012 photo shows Marine Cpl. Larry Bailey II, of Zion, Ill. at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Md. After tripping a rooftop bomb in Afghanistan in June 2011, the 26-year-old Marine remembers flying into the air, then fellow troops attending to him. Bailey, who ended up a triple amputee, expects to get a hand transplant this summer. A staggering 45 percent of the 1.6 million veterans from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are now seeking compensation for disabilities they say are service-related - more than double the 21 percent who filed such claims after some previous wars, according to top government officials. The new veterans have different types of injuries than previous veterans did, in part because improvised bombs have been the main weapon and because body armor and improved battlefield care allowed many of them to survive wounds that in past wars proved fatal. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

America's newest veterans are filing for disability benefits at a historic rate, claiming to be the most medically and mentally troubled generation of former troops the nation has ever seen.

A staggering 45 percent of the 1.6 million veterans from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are now seeking compensation for injuries they say are service-related. That is more than double the estimate of 21 percent who filed such claims after the Gulf War in the early 1990s, top government officials told The Associated Press.

What's more, these new veterans are claiming eight to nine ailments on average, and the most recent ones over the last year are claiming 11 to 14. By comparison, Vietnam veterans are currently receiving compensation for fewer than four, on average, and those from World War II and Korea, just two.

It's unclear how much worse off these new veterans are than their predecessors. Many factors are driving the dramatic increase in claims ? the weak economy, more troops surviving wounds, and more awareness of problems such as concussions and PTSD. Almost one-third have been granted disability so far.

Government officials and some veterans' advocates say that veterans who might have been able to work with certain disabilities may be more inclined to seek benefits now because they lost jobs or can't find any. Aggressive outreach and advocacy efforts also have brought more veterans into the system, which must evaluate each claim to see if it is war-related. Payments range from $127 a month for a 10 percent disability to $2,769 for a full one.

As the nation commemorates the more than 6,400 troops who died in post-9/11 wars, the problems of those who survived also draw attention. These new veterans are seeking a level of help the government did not anticipate, and for which there is no special fund set aside to pay.

The Department of Veterans Affairs is mired in backlogged claims, but "our mission is to take care of whatever the population is," said Allison Hickey, the VA's undersecretary for benefits. "We want them to have what their entitlement is."

The 21 percent who filed claims in previous wars is Hickey's estimate of an average for Operation Desert Storm and Desert Shield. The VA has details only on the current disability claims being paid to veterans of each war.

The AP spent three months reviewing records and talking with doctors, government officials and former troops to take stock of the new veterans. They are different in many ways from those who fought before them.

More are from the Reserves and National Guard ? 28 percent of those filing disability claims ? rather than career military. Reserves and National Guard made up a greater percentage of troops in these wars than they did in previous ones. About 31 percent of Guard/Reserve new veterans have filed claims compared to 56 percent of career military ones.

More of the new veterans are women, accounting for 12 percent of those who have sought care through the VA. Women also served in greater numbers in these wars than in the past. Some female veterans are claiming PTSD due to military sexual trauma ? a new challenge from a disability rating standpoint, Hickey said.

The new veterans have different types of injuries than previous veterans did. That's partly because improvised bombs have been the main weapon and because body armor and improved battlefield care allowed many of them to survive wounds that in past wars proved fatal.

"They're being kept alive at unprecedented rates," said Dr. David Cifu, the VA's medical rehabilitation chief. More than 95 percent of troops wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan have survived.

Larry Bailey II is an example. After tripping a rooftop bomb in Afghanistan last June, the 26-year-old Marine remembers flying into the air, then fellow troops attending to him.

"I pretty much knew that my legs were gone. My left hand, from what I remember I still had three fingers on it," although they didn't seem right, Bailey said. "I looked a few times but then they told me to stop looking." Bailey, who is from Zion, Ill., north of Chicago, ended up a triple amputee and expects to get a hand transplant this summer.

He is still transitioning from active duty and is not yet a veteran. Just over half of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans eligible for VA care have used it so far.

Of those who have sought VA care:

?More than 1,600 of them lost a limb; many others lost fingers or toes.

?At least 156 are blind, and thousands of others have impaired vision.

?More than 177,000 have hearing loss, and more than 350,000 report tinnitus ? noise or ringing in the ears.

?Thousands are disfigured, as many as 200 of them so badly that they may need face transplants. One-quarter of battlefield injuries requiring evacuation included wounds to the face or jaw, one study found.

"The numbers are pretty staggering," said Dr. Bohdan Pomahac, a surgeon at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston who has done four face transplants on non-military patients and expects to start doing them soon on veterans.

Others have invisible wounds. More than 400,000 of these new veterans have been treated by the VA for a mental health problem, most commonly, PTSD.

Tens of thousands of veterans suffered traumatic brain injury, or TBI ? mostly mild concussions from bomb blasts ? and doctors don't know what's in store for them long-term. Cifu, of the VA, said that roughly 20 percent of active duty troops suffered concussions, but only one-third of them have symptoms lasting beyond a few months.

That's still a big number, and "it's very rare that someone has just a single concussion," said David Hovda, director of the UCLA Brain Injury Research Center. Suffering multiple concussions, or one soon after another, raises the risk of long-term problems. A brain injury also makes the brain more susceptible to PTSD, he said.

On a more mundane level, many new veterans have back, shoulder and knee problems, aggravated by carrying heavy packs and wearing the body armor that helped keep them alive. One recent study found that 19 percent required orthopedic surgery consultations and 4 percent needed surgery after returning from combat.

All of this adds up to more disability claims, which for years have been coming in faster than the government can handle them. The average wait to get a new one processed grows longer each month and is now about eight months ? time that a frustrated, injured veteran might spend with no income.

More than 560,000 veterans from all wars currently have claims that are backlogged ? older than 125 days.

The VA's benefits chief, Hickey, gave these reasons:

?Sheer volume. Disability claims from all veterans soared from 888,000 in 2008 to 1.3 million in 2011. Last year's included more than 230,000 new claims from Vietnam veterans and their survivors because of a change in what conditions can be considered related to Agent Orange exposure. Those complex, 50-year-old cases took more than a third of available staff, she said.

?High number of ailments per claim. When a veteran claims 11 to 14 problems, each one requires "due diligence" ? a medical evaluation and proof that it is service-related, Hickey said.

?A new mandate to handle the oldest cases first. Because these tend to be the most complex, they have monopolized staff and pushed up average processing time on new claims, she said.

?Outmoded systems. The VA is streamlining and going to electronic records, but for now, "We have 4.4 million case files sitting around 56 regional offices that we have to work with; that slows us down significantly," Hickey said.

Barry Jesinoski, executive director of Disabled American Veterans, called Hickey's efforts "commendable," but said: "The VA has a long way to go" to meet veterans' needs. Even before the surge in Agent Orange cases, VA officials "were already at a place that was unacceptable" on backlogged claims, he said.

He and VA officials agree that the economy is motivating some claims. His group helps veterans file them, and he said that sometimes when veterans come in, "We'll say, 'Is your back worse?' and they'll say, 'No, I just lost my job.'"

Jesinoski does believe these veterans have more mental problems, especially from multiple deployments.

"You just can't keep sending people into war five, six or seven times and expect that they're going to come home just fine," he said.

For taxpayers, the ordeal is just beginning. With any war, the cost of caring for veterans rises for several decades and peaks 30 to 40 years later, when diseases of aging are more common, said Harvard economist Linda Bilmes. She estimates the health care and disability costs of the recent wars at $600 billion to $900 billion.

"This is a huge number and there's no money set aside," she said. "Unless we take steps now into some kind of fund that will grow over time, it's very plausible many people will feel we can't afford these benefits we overpromised."

How would that play to these veterans, who all volunteered and now expect the government to keep its end of the bargain?

"The deal was, if you get wounded, we're going to supply this level of support," Bilmes said. Right now, "there's a lot of sympathy and a lot of people want to help. But memories are short and times change."

___

Online:

VA's Home Page http://www.va.gov/

VA budget, performance: http://www.va.gov/budget/report/

IOM Coming Home report: http://books.nap.edu/openbook.php?record_id=12812

Costs of war: http://bit.ly/y5cLsH

Veterans quick facts: http://www.va.gov/vetdata/Quick_Facts.asp

War casualty reports: http://www.defense.gov/news/casualty.pdf

Brain Injury Center: http://www.dvbic.org/

___

Follow Marilynn Marchione's coverage on Twitter at http://twitter.com/MMarchioneAP

Associated Press

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Sunday, May 27, 2012

PFT: Giants' Nicks has surgery; fast return possible

Indianapolis Colts MinicampGetty Images

If there was any doubt Andrew Luck would be the starting quarterback for the Colts in 2012, there shouldn?t be.

More accurately, there ain?t.

Even though he has missed Organized Team Activities due to the graduation schedule at Stanford, Luck will be installed as the No. 1 quarterback when he finally arrives for offseason workouts.? ?Ain?t no doubt,? offensive coordinator Bruce Arians said, via Mike Chappel of the Indianapolis Star.

It?s hardly a surprise, especially in light of the rest of the quarterbacks on the depth chart.? But it?s still interesting to see how different teams handle the question of whether to anoint a rookie quarterback as the starter before he has done anything to earn the position.? The Colts and Redskins have handed the starting job to Luck and Robert Griffin III, respectively.? Dolphins rookie Ryan Tannehill, the eighth overall pick, must unseat Matt Moore.? And Browns rookie Brandon Weeden, the 22nd selection, is part of a competition that very well may be slanted in his favor, but Weeden still hasn?t been handed the job.

Regardless of his status, Luck still has to pay his dues.? ?He?s got to go through the fires just like everybody else did,? linebacker Robert Mathis said.? ?But he?s our leader.? He?s the man, so let?s go.?

He?s now the man who is replacing the man named Peyton Manning.? And that adds to the potential pressure.

?Yes, he?s replacing Peyton Manning, but Manning is no longer part of this team,? defensive end Corey Redding said.? ?Peyton did great things, but now it?s Luck.? He has to come in and not even think about that.?? He has to come in and do great things for this team.? He can?t have [Manning] in the back of his mind.? This is the 2012 team.? We?re moving forward.?

Ain?t no doubt they are.? And ain?t no doubt it won?t be easy.? Manning was 3-13 as a rookie, even though he had Marshall Faulk and Marvin Harrison to help him.

Ain?t no one named Marshall Faulk or Marvin Harrison on the roster now.

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Your Eyes Needs Prescription Sunglasses

Submitted : May 25, 2012???Word Count : 432???Popularity:?Not Rated

Sunlight can cause many problems to your eyes especially when you are at the beach, in the snow or in the water, the glare of the sun causes your eyes to suffer from blurred vision, squint and can make you dizzy. Prescription sunglasses are designed to cope with these kinds of problems. These glasses are customized with required specifications and needs to protect your eyes against harmful sun rays, fitted with corrective lenses these glasses are necessary especially for those who are farsighted or nearsighted and who participate in dangerous sports.

Prescription sunglasses come in different shades and styles from the normal look to the stylish look, these sunglasses have attributes to deal with both farsighted and nearsighted vision problems. These sunglasses are fitted with concave and convex lenses. Concave lenses are used by people who are nearsighted while Convex lenses are made for farsighted people, the characteristics of concave and convex lenses are that they are concave shaped because the lenses are thin in the center but thick at the edges and Convex lenses are thick in the middle and thin along the edges.

The stylish looks of prescription sunglasses, made them best choice of everyone and the style always matters the most because it creates the sense of confidence and well being. These sunglasses come in different shades, frames and styles. Frames keep sunglasses more durable and safe for a long time but there are frame-less glasses too that are lightweight and make you feel lighter and make sunglasses less obvious on your face. Frames are made up of different metals or plastics with different thicknesses which sometimes cause wrinkles around your eyes.

Depending on your need prescription sunglasses with frames or without frames have different usages especially in sports. Runners use frame-less sunglasses as to feel lighter while running, on the other hand golfers use sunglasses that are framed or partially framed. Skiing person uses prescription skiing glasses with thick frames around them.

Before purchasing prescription sunglasses your eye needs to be checked by any good optician, it is recommended. An optician analyses your eyes and determine the type of lenses to use in your prescription sunglasses after his/her prescription you can get it from same optician of from various Eyewear stores and even purchase them online. Whatever way you go check the reputation of the person you are purchasing prescription glasses. Various Companies prepare prescription sunglasses according to your need and specifications.

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Bolivar-Richburg varsity sports stay in proposed budget

Bolivar-Richburg will put another $17,010,677 million budget proposal before voters June 19, but sports cut from the first budget would be reinstated.

The school board Thursday voted to support a proposal by President Charles Bessette to put varsity wrestling, tennis and golf back into the budget. However, the boys and girls tennis teams will be combined into one. Golf would also continue as a varsity sport and there would be enough money allocated for a coach to take up to six golfers to away matches.

Modified wrestling would also be restored to a limited degree, district officials said. There would be a stipend for a varsity coach to mentor both the varsity and modified wrestling teams during practice. There would also be money to take the modified team to five tournaments per year.

In the new proposed budget, funding for fifth- and sixth-grade boys basketball would be eliminated and instead of modified girls? and boys basketball having separate teams for grades seven and eight, there would be one girls? modified team and one boys? team for both grades. The other changes to athletics is the school board would look to cut one or two games from each sports team?s regular season, depending on how many games the team has on its schedule.

District Business Manager Jenny Bilotta said even with these changes, the district needs to cut about $2,000 from its 2012-13 budget. Her recommendation is to cut the $2,000 from the administrative budget. Bilotta said she has talked to administrators and they support the cuts.

?We?ll cut back on conferences and things and other contract expenses,??she said. ?It may be the number of organizations an administrator belongs to. The administrators can decide how they?re going to pull that back from the expenses they incur.?

The district is required by law to have another public hearing. The board scheduled the hearing for 6;30 p.m. June 11 in the auditorium.

Bilotta said the changes would be posted on the district?s web site. She also said a flyer should be sent to the public.

?You?ve got to have a short, quick flyer. We?re going to have to come up with a flyer ... and broadcast it everywhere,??she said.

Board members decided not to go above a 2 percent tax levy increase. They said Superintendent Marilyn Capawan, who could not attend Thursday?s special meeting due to illness, also felt strongly that the levy increase should not be more than 2 percent. Capawan will return next week, school board members said.

No one voted against the revised budget proposal. However, board member J.?Michael Church said he was in favor of putting the original budget proposal out for a second vote.

?I still think that was as fair a job as we could do,??Church said. ?As much as I?hate to see anything go, this was the fair (thing to do).?

The board said results of a survey, given to voters after last week?s original budget proposal failed, will be put on the district website. Bilotta said the results would be on the site today.

The survey contained questions such as, ?Did eliminating athletic programs have a bearing on your vote?? ?Did the elimination of teaching positions have a bearing on your vote?? and ?Do you feel a property tax levy of 2 percent was too high?? Bessette said the results indicating how many answered ?yes??or no? on the questions would be released.

?Nothing else will be released outside of the board. There were some good comments (in the surveys), some insightful comments and there were some that were not helping,??he said.

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