Engineering wonder world's longest sea-crossing bridge (China)

clipped from blogs.usatoday.com The world's longest sea-crossing bridge opened in China just a few days ago, an engineering wonder designed to cut in half the travel time between Shanghai and the key port of Ningbo — from four hours to about two. But as with many/most traffic projects, planners just couldn't factor in the variables of one confounding element: humans. Since the Hangzhou Bay Bridge opened Friday, traffic has doubled. "I just wanted to drive a bit slowly and enjoy the sea breeze. Is that wrong?" one driver complained, according to Zhejiang Online clipped from www.roadtraffic-technology.com The 36km-long Hangzhou Bay Bridge is a six-lane highway bridge and the longest ocean-crossing bridge in the world. The service island at the middle of the Hangzhou Bay Bridge serves as a sightseeing location for drivers and can also support rescue services. "Designed for 100 years of service life, the bridge has speed limits of 100km/h for the main spans and 120km/h for land approaches."

D.C. Madam Handwritten Suicide Note

Click the link labeled "Read the Letters" to view and read a copy of the original handwritten suicide note.

clipped from www.cnn.com Convicted "D.C. Madam" Deborah Jeane Palfrey railed against what she called a "modern-day lynching" in notes to her mother and sister before hanging herself at her mother's Florida home, police disclosed Monday. Deborah Jeane Palfrey wrote in suicide notes to her mother and sister that her conviction had ruined her. Read the letters »

Pin1 Is Beneficial in Alzheimer's Disease, Detrimental to Some Forms of Dementia

This is a good example of the need to go beyond your family doctor and get a specialist to diagnose specific types of dementia. I am still amazed at how many people I meet that simply accept the family doctor diagnosis and prescribed treatment. It is not widely known you need to "ask" for the consult as many health care companies don't want to pay for this extra level of "service" and discourage family care doctors from recommending the "consult".

Pin1 Is Beneficial in Alzheimer's Disease, Detrimental to Some Forms of Dementia.

clipped from www.newswise.com The most common form of dementia, Alzheimer’s disease, and a relatively rare hereditary form of dementia, frontotemporal dementia with parkinsonism-17, share a common pathology: Both are the result of an overaccumulation of tau proteins, which form tangled lesions in the brain’s neurons and eventually lead to the collapse of the brain cells responsible for memory although mutations in the gene encoding tau have not been found in individuals with Alzheimer’s disease, they have been identified in individual with frontotemporal dementia, and are often used as models for studying Alzheimer’s disease A new study finds that the Pin1 enzyme, previously shown to be of benefit in “detangling” tau in Alzheimer’s disease, actually has the contradictory effect in cases in which the tau has certain mutations while increasing Pin1 in neurons effectively suppresses the disease development in cases of Alzheimer’s, it actually accelerates disease progression in the case of frontotemporal dementia

Who should MDs let die in a pandemic? Report offers answers

Tip, don't get old or sick.

They include the very elderly, seriously hurt trauma victims, severely burned patients and those with severe dementia.

clipped from hosted.ap.org Doctors know some patients needing lifesaving care won't get it in a flu pandemic or other disaster. The gut-wrenching dilemma will be deciding who to let die. Now, an influential group of physicians has drafted a grimly specific list of recommendations for which patients wouldn't be treated. They include the very elderly, seriously hurt trauma victims, severely burned patients and those with severe dementia The proposed guidelines are designed to be a blueprint for hospitals "so that everybody will be thinking in the same way" when pandemic flu or another widespread health care disaster hits, said Dr. Asha Devereaux. She is a critical care specialist in San Diego and lead writer of the task force report. But the recommendations get much more specific, and include Those with severe mental impairment, which could include advanced Alzheimer's disease. People older than 85 CHEST: http://www.chestjournal.org U.S. Govt.: http://www.pandemicflu.gov

Green Ink: Pollution and Bad Hair

clipped from blogs.wsj.com Auto makers and dealers are going to the states to stop lawmakers from following California’s move to regulate greenhouse-gas emissions, writes the WSJ As automakers gear up to introduce plug-in hybrid cars in 2010, they are worried that rising electricity prices may deter consumers The Boston Globe reports on states’ efforts to reduce green-house gas emissions The United Nations Climate Panel is optimistic that a climate change deal can be reached by 2009 The Nature article on “global cooling” has been widely misreported Earth2Tech has a roundup of information-technology entrepreneurs entering the cleantech market looking for the next “Google of cleantech men living in polluted areas are more likely to go bald, according to a new study from the University of London

Joe Paterno From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

clipped from en.wikipedia.org This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (March 2008) Joseph Vincent Paterno (born December 21, 1926, in Brooklyn, New York), nicknamed JoePa, is the head coach of Pennsylvania State University's college football team, a position he has held since 1966. Paterno, along with Chris Ault and Bobby Bowden, is one of three active coaches who have also been inducted in to the College Football Hall of Fame. Paterno has won the second most football games against teams currently in NCAA Division I-FBS (formerly Division I-A) next to Bobby Bowden, who is first in games won. He also has more bowl game wins and more FBS undefeated seasons than any other coach in college football history.

McCain: 'Mission accomplished' banner not Bush's fault

clipped from news.aol.com Republican John McCain says President Bush should not be held responsible for the much-criticized "mission accomplished" banner five years ago, but he should be blamed for bungling the early months of the Iraq war. McCain said it was fair to blame Bush for comments by members of his administration that exaggerated the prospects for success in Iraq in contradiction to the facts on the ground.