In the News

Philly police department's social media channels among nation's most engaged

Social Media Today Thursday, February 02, 2012

Social Media Today spotlights the Philadelphia Police Department's use of Facebook, YouTube and Twitter to communicate with the public.

The Department started using Twitter to micro-blog or "tweet" September of 2009. The use of Twitter allows investigators to get out a small amount of information quickly, along with a short link providing the opportunity to find out more. There are currently over 5,300 followers of @Phillypolice, the Department’s official Twitter account.

In the summer of 2010, the official Philadelphia Police Department Facebook page was launched. Currently, there are over 38,000 people following this page, which makes it the most followed Facebook page of any law enforcement agency in the nation. The Department links all articles from the "News" section of its web site, Phillypolice.com, to its Facebook page to ensure that information is immediately available to the public, independent of the news media. Facebook often refers police departments that are interested in using their medium to the Philadelphia Police page as an example.

Original source: Social Media Today
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High-tech system to guide visitors away from full parking lots in Gettysburg

WTOP Thursday, February 02, 2012

WTOP explains how sensors, cameras and mobile phones will determine when parking lots at the Gettysburg Civil War battlefield are full, then direct tourists to take shuttle buses from overflow lots.

Backup systems will be installed using cameras and cellphone technology to ensure the cars are counted accurately.

"Essentially, the idea is no one system determines when the parking lots are full," park spokeswoman Katie Lawhon said.

Parking lots fill up only a few days each year, Lawhon said. But the system is designed to prevent headaches during the 150th anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg in 2013. Tourism officials expect as many as 4 million people to visit Gettysburg next year.

Original source: WTOP
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Wind energy project in southwestern PA chosen for $12.7M grant

The Tribune-Democrat Thursday, February 02, 2012

The Tribune-Democrat reports on a $12.7 million state grant awarded to help build what would be Pennsylvania's largest wind farm.

The 68-turbine farm has a $239 million price tag.

“It (the grant) really is a significant factor in our decision to build in Pennsylvania,” said Jim Spencer, EverPower president and CEO.

"In a tough power market, this really tips the scales for Pennsylvania."

Original source: The Tribune-Democrat
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Steelmaker training Penn State students to take over future retirees' jobs

The Patriot-News Thursday, February 02, 2012

The world's largest steel company and two Penn State campuses are partnering to train future workers at a Harrisburg-area steel plant, The Patriot-News reports.

Many of the employees at ArcelorMittal Steelton have worked there for decades. As they retire and the plant upgrades, the company needs skilled workers who understand new technologies, said Ray Napoli, president of United Steelworkers Local 1688.

ArcelorMittal broke ground in Steelton in December for a $54 million high-efficiency reheat furnace project that it hopes to use this year, spokeswoman Mary Beth Holdford said.

Meanwhile, Marcellus Shale gas exploration has provided cheaper fuel for manufacturing, and because the company makes steel directly for the exploration, production and gas-distribution processes.

Original source: The Patriot-News
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Quanta Technologies' windows save customers money in more ways than one

The Philadelphia Inquirer Thursday, February 02, 2012

The Philadelphia Inquirer reports on Quanta Technologies, a company whose storm windows enable homeowners to save energy without buying entirely new replacement windows.

Quanta bought the assets of a Chicago-area window-manufacturing company that was going out of business, and, in July 2010, began moving the equipment into 50,000 square feet of what had been an RCA television-tube factory just outside downtown Lancaster. Timing could not have been better.

Studies by the federal Energy Department showed enough energy savings from low-e storm window retrofits to enable them to pay for themselves within five years. Consequently, Pennsylvania added them to its Weatherization Assistance Program priority list -- recommended energy-savings actions -- in the fall of 2010, about the same time Quanta introduced its first commercial product.

It was that federally funded weatherization program, which provides retrofits to low-income homes, that Quanta first set out to serve. Its QuantaPanel 500 series, a low-e storm window that attaches to the exterior of existing single-pane or double-pane clear-glass windows, cost typically less than one-fifth the installed cost of an Energy Star replacement window, according to Quanta officials.

Original source: The Philadelphia Inquirer
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Gannon U. women's soccer recruit first to sign letter of intent digitally

The Birmingham News Thursday, February 02, 2012

The Birmingham News reports that the women's soccer team at Gannon University will be the first in the country to accept an electronically signed letter of intent from a recruit.

The women's soccer recruit at Gannon will receive an e-mail with a link to click. Recruits need e-mail addresses to have already registered with the NCAA Eligibility Center.

The Esigningday e-mail serves as validation for security purposes. There's also an option for schools to ask the recruit to insert the last four digits of his or her social security number.

The link will open to the Gannon recruit's letter of intent and scholarship letter. There will be a place for her and her parents to sign. Depending on the tablet they're using, they can sign by using a mouse, a finger or typing in her name to create a signature.

Original source: The Birmingham News
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Study at Pitt might explain teens' predisposition to addiction and mental illness

Medscape Medical News Thursday, January 26, 2012

Two scientists from the University of Pittsburgh have found that an area of the brain that's more active in adolescents might explain why teenagers are more susceptible than adults to mental illness and addiction, Medscape Medical News reports.

Adolescence is a "critical time period" when symptoms of addiction and most mental illnesses, such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and depression, are apt to manifest, Dr. (Bita) Moghaddam explained. Therefore, this is a "critical period to try to prevent disease."

"Traditionally, the focus of treatment and research has been to try to treat the disease after it develops. By better understanding what's happening in the adolescent brain, we can potentially understand what mechanisms go awry and perhaps intervene in high-risk individuals," Dr. Moghaddam said.

Original source: Medscape Medical News
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Web design entrepreneur in Poconos developing plan to serve more local small businesses

Portfolio.com Thursday, January 26, 2012

Portfolio.com interviews Dennis Jeter, head of A Sound Strategy, a Strousdburg software and website development business with about $1 million in annual revenue.

Though his business has customers in such places as New York City, Jeter is for now focused not just on small businesses, but small towns -- and he’s borrowed a strategy used by the largest tech company in the largest cities -- to hammer home his marketing work.

As Apple has done in major markets, Jeter is opening a brick-and-mortar store of his own, YourWebsite2Go, in his company’s headquarters of Stroudsburg, rather than relying on the virtual sales tactics that are common in the world of business-to-business software.

“From a branding perspective, it’s really, really working out well,” he said. “We’re constantly being branded in the community.”

Original source: Portfolio.com
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PSU research: Obesity risk likely higher at home than school for middle schoolers

Science News Thursday, January 26, 2012

A study by sociologists at Penn State found that middle school students weren't any more likely to get heavier if junk food was available at their schools, Science News reports.

“Children may face greater risks for obesity at home than at school, even if their schools sell junk food,” (Jennifer) Van Hook says.

Kids’ eating patterns may take root well before middle school, she proposes. Also, middle school students’ structured schedules may leave little opportunity to scarf junk food during the day.

The researchers’ findings don’t exclude the possibility that some individuals find ways to eat enough junk food at school to gain weight, Van Hook adds.

Original source: Science News
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Carnegie Mellon challenges students to invent futuristic products

Associated Press Thursday, January 26, 2012

The Associated Press reports on an event in which engineering students at Carnegie Mellon University invented gadgets like a drink-mixing machine and an alarm clock that posts oversleepers' photos on Facebook.

At the other end of a hallway crowded with gifted minds, Neil Abcouwer had a thoughtful look on his face as a motorized toy car zoomed around the floor.

That's because Abcouwer was controlling the car's direction with his mind. A headset he wore picked up a specific type of brain wave then sent a wireless signal to the car.

"This one is a fairly simple one that measures beta waves," Abcouwer, 21, said of the headset.

Original source: Associated Press
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Researcher in Reading finds scientific evidence that "gaydar" exists

ScienceDaily Thursday, January 26, 2012

A study by Albright College evolutionary biologist Susan Hughes found that people with more symmetrical facial features are more likely to be correctly identified as heterosexual, ScienceDaily reports.

"We found differences in measures of facial symmetry between self-identified heterosexual and homosexual individuals," says Hughes. "We also found that the more likely raters perceived males as being attracted to women (i.e. holding more of a heterosexual orientation), the more symmetrical the males' facial features were." Likewise, there was a tendency for straight women to be more symmetrical, although it was not statistically significant.

The study also examined sexual dimorphic facial measures -- i.e. how masculine or feminine a face appeared -- and found heterosexual men had overall more masculine features than did gay men. This, too, was used by the raters in assessing orientation; the more masculine a man's face was, the more likely he was perceived as heterosexual.

Original source: ScienceDaily
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Manganese may prevent deadly infections from E. coli, Carnegie Mellon research finds

Bloomberg Thursday, January 26, 2012

Bloomberg reports on Carnegie Mellon research finding that an element called manganese might be key to preventing E. coli infections like one that led to an outbreak in Europe in 2011.

Manganese, commonly found in nature, protected cells against as much as 4,000 times the amount of that toxin required to cause death in the lab, according to scientists in the journal Science. In a study, mice dosed with manganese were resistant to the poison.

That toxin, called Shiga, caused the severe diarrhea and kidney damage seen in the European outbreak. Antibiotics aren’t effective and may make the poison worse by causing the bacteria to burst open, releasing more Shiga and making patients sicker. There is no treatment for the infections, which sicken 150 million worldwide and kill more than 1 million each year, according to the study authors.

"An inexpensive, accessible treatment -- not a designer drug -- is the ideal solution," said Adam Linstedt, a biologist at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh and a study author, in a statement. Most of the illnesses from Shiga take place in the developing world, so cheapness is important, he said.

Original source: Bloomberg
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Pittsburgh's transformation provides template for other Rust Belt cities

Artvoice Thursday, January 19, 2012

Artvoice examines how Pittsburgh has been revitalized through efforts to develop homegrown businesses, recruit tech talent and transform the downtown area, and what civic leaders in Buffalo, N.Y., can take away from this success.

But it’s the long, labor-intensive process of changing the culture there that seems to be paying off. Since 1999, a Pittsburgh shop called Innovation Works has invested Pennsylvania taxpayer funds as seed capital, funds that have helped more than 150 Pittsburgh-area startup companies raise over $1 billion in follow-on private capital. There are well-publicized entrepreneurship programs at the universities, but there’s more, including business-plan competitions with tangible rewards.

One “accelerator” program called Alphalabs offers $25,000 cash in seed funds, plus office space and ongoing mentoring by retired CEOs, Silicon Valley veterans, and academics. A quick survey of the portfolios of these programs indicates that most of them are IT-centered, but some are healthcare-related, some manufacturing-related. The existence of multiple entities that are engaged in the same enterprise -- namely, helping new enterprises -- has helped create a new business ecology. Venture capital funding, government grants, initial public stock offerings, and publicity in national business media are all growing.

Original source: Artvoice
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Being local helps small banks stay relevant to small business

The Times-Tribune Thursday, January 19, 2012

In northeastern Pennsylvania, like areas around the country, many customers prefer community banks to national banks, The Times-Tribune reports.

The nation's economic woes trace their roots to the financial sector. Banks and investment houses have been pilloried in popular consciousness. But community bankers are not the cigar-smoking moneybags demonized by Occupy Wall Street protesters, said Wilson Smith, bank equities analyst for Philadelphia-based Patriot Capital Partners.

"When you look at your community bankers, they are showing up to work to meet the financial needs of the community. They are not making swaps and derivative trades or trading for their own account," Mr. Smith said. "They are at the Rotary meetings, they are part of the community."

Landmark (Community Bank) itself was formed as a reaction to bank mergers and acquisitions that swept through the area 10 years ago. When local businesses found the transition rough and service undesirable, they provided capital to start a new bank, or a de novo bank, as new banking companies are called in the industry.

Original source: The Times-Tribune
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Leukemia treatment developed at Penn State would lead cancerous cells to self-destruct

Centre Daily Times Thursday, January 19, 2012

The Centre Daily Times reports on two Penn State scientists, Robert Paulson and K. Sandeep Prabhu, who are studying a possible leukemia treatment, and perhaps a cure.

Chemotherapy drugs are essentially poisons that kill leukemia cells, along with healthy cells. But the leukemia stem cells can evade the chemotherapy treatment.

"So they just hide," Paulson said. "And so people will go into remission as long as they’re on the drug. But as soon as they go off the drug then those stem cells just rev up again."

But D12-PGJ3 activates a tumor suppresser gene, known as p53, inside leukemia stem cells -- and that activation causes the leukemia cells to die.

"What we’re trying to do is to selectively make these stem cells, the cancer stem cells, undergo a suicidal death," Prabhu said.

Original source: Centre Daily Times
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