She’s always a welcome sight to behold, and last night (October 30) Lindsay Ellingson was scorching hot at the 4th Annual UNICEF Masquerade Ball in New York City.
The 28-year-old SoCal cutie donned a flirty mask and worked the arrivals area at The Angel Orensanz Foundation in a shimmery navy gown with a gold underlay and long train prior to the festivities.
Lindsay has been preparing for the forthcoming Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show since September, and unlike other Angels, she’s not worried about being skinny.
She told press, "I like to add curves. I think it's sexier and more feminine to be more full. So, I add like almond butter, peanut butter, protein shakes to my diet, just to feel a little sexier and curvier. I also step up my workouts. But I try not to stress about it because that's never good."
FILE - This Feb. 18, 2013 file photo shows actress Ellie Kemper at the Vanity Fair and Juicy Couture Celebration for the 2013 Vanities Calendar at the Chateau Marmont in Los Angeles. NBC has ordered 13 episodes of a new singlecam comedy from multiple Emmy Award winners Tina Fey and Robert Carlock. Ellie Kemper is set to star. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP, File)
FILE - This Feb. 18, 2013 file photo shows actress Ellie Kemper at the Vanity Fair and Juicy Couture Celebration for the 2013 Vanities Calendar at the Chateau Marmont in Los Angeles. NBC has ordered 13 episodes of a new singlecam comedy from multiple Emmy Award winners Tina Fey and Robert Carlock. Ellie Kemper is set to star. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP, File)
LOS ANGELES (AP) — NBC says it's ordering 13 episodes of a new comedy created by Tina Fey and starring Ellie Kemper of "The Office."
The network says Kemper will play a woman who flees a doomsday cult and begins a new life in New York city. The actress had joined "The Office" as Erin the receptionist in the show's 2009 season.
NBC says Fey created the new series with Robert Carlock, who was an executive producer on her Emmy-winning series "30 Rock." The pair will join in writing the new comedy and serve as executive producers along with David Miner.
NBC says the new show, as yet untitled, is scheduled to debut in fall 2014.
Lefties more likely to have psychotic disorders such as schizophrenia: Yale study
PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:
31-Oct-2013
[
| E-mail
]
Share
Contact: Karen N. Peart karen.peart@yale.edu 203-432-1326 Yale University
Being left-handed has been linked to many mental disorders, but Yale researcher Jadon Webb and his colleagues have found that among those with mental illnesses, people with psychotic disorders like schizophrenia are much more likely to be left-handed than those with mood disorders like depression or bipolar syndrome.
The new study is published in the October-December 2013 issue of the journal SAGE Open.
About 10% of the U.S. population is left-handed. When comparing all patients with mental disorders, the research team found that 11% of those diagnosed with mood disorders such as depression and bipolar disorder are left-handed, which is similar to the rate in the general population. But according to Webb, a child and adolescent psychiatry fellow at the Yale Child Study Center with a particular interest in biomarkers of psychosis, "a striking of 40% of those with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder are left-handed."
"In general, people with psychosis are those who have lost touch with reality in some way, through hallucinations, delusions, or false beliefs, and it is notable that this symptom constellation seems to correlate with being left-handed," said Webb. "Finding biomarkers such as this can hopefully enable us to identify and differentiate mental disorders earlier, and perhaps one day tailor treatment in more effective ways."
Webb and his colleagues studied 107 individuals from a public outpatient psychiatric clinic seeking treatment in an urban, low-income community. The research team determined the frequency of left-handedness within the group of patients identified with different types of mental disorders.
The study showed that white patients with psychotic illness were more likely to be left-handed than black patients. "Even after controlling for this, however, a large difference between psychotic and mood disorder patients remained," said Webb.
What sets this study apart from other handedness research is the simplicity of the questionnaire and analysis, said Webb. Patients who were attending their usual check-ups at the mental health facility were simply asked "What hand do you write with?"
"This told us much of what we needed to know in a very simple, practical way," said Webb. "Doing a simple analysis meant that there were no obstacles to participating and we had a very high participation rate of 97%. Patients dealing with serious symptoms of psychosis might have had a harder time participating in a more complicated set of questions or tests. By keeping the survey simple, we were able to get an accurate snapshot of a hard-to-study subgroup of mentally ill people those who are often poverty-stricken with very poor family and community support."
###
Other authors on the study include Mary I. Schroeder, Christopher Chee, Deanna Dial, Rebecca Hana, Hussam Jefee, Jacob Mays, and Patrick Molitor.
Citation:Sage Open vol. 3 no. 4 2158244013503166 (October-December 2013)
http://sgo.sagepub.com/content/3/4/2158244013503166.full.pdf+html
[
| E-mail
Share
]
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Lefties more likely to have psychotic disorders such as schizophrenia: Yale study
PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:
31-Oct-2013
[
| E-mail
]
Share
Contact: Karen N. Peart karen.peart@yale.edu 203-432-1326 Yale University
Being left-handed has been linked to many mental disorders, but Yale researcher Jadon Webb and his colleagues have found that among those with mental illnesses, people with psychotic disorders like schizophrenia are much more likely to be left-handed than those with mood disorders like depression or bipolar syndrome.
The new study is published in the October-December 2013 issue of the journal SAGE Open.
About 10% of the U.S. population is left-handed. When comparing all patients with mental disorders, the research team found that 11% of those diagnosed with mood disorders such as depression and bipolar disorder are left-handed, which is similar to the rate in the general population. But according to Webb, a child and adolescent psychiatry fellow at the Yale Child Study Center with a particular interest in biomarkers of psychosis, "a striking of 40% of those with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder are left-handed."
"In general, people with psychosis are those who have lost touch with reality in some way, through hallucinations, delusions, or false beliefs, and it is notable that this symptom constellation seems to correlate with being left-handed," said Webb. "Finding biomarkers such as this can hopefully enable us to identify and differentiate mental disorders earlier, and perhaps one day tailor treatment in more effective ways."
Webb and his colleagues studied 107 individuals from a public outpatient psychiatric clinic seeking treatment in an urban, low-income community. The research team determined the frequency of left-handedness within the group of patients identified with different types of mental disorders.
The study showed that white patients with psychotic illness were more likely to be left-handed than black patients. "Even after controlling for this, however, a large difference between psychotic and mood disorder patients remained," said Webb.
What sets this study apart from other handedness research is the simplicity of the questionnaire and analysis, said Webb. Patients who were attending their usual check-ups at the mental health facility were simply asked "What hand do you write with?"
"This told us much of what we needed to know in a very simple, practical way," said Webb. "Doing a simple analysis meant that there were no obstacles to participating and we had a very high participation rate of 97%. Patients dealing with serious symptoms of psychosis might have had a harder time participating in a more complicated set of questions or tests. By keeping the survey simple, we were able to get an accurate snapshot of a hard-to-study subgroup of mentally ill people those who are often poverty-stricken with very poor family and community support."
###
Other authors on the study include Mary I. Schroeder, Christopher Chee, Deanna Dial, Rebecca Hana, Hussam Jefee, Jacob Mays, and Patrick Molitor.
Citation:Sage Open vol. 3 no. 4 2158244013503166 (October-December 2013)
http://sgo.sagepub.com/content/3/4/2158244013503166.full.pdf+html
[
| E-mail
Share
]
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Microsatellite DNA analysis reveals genetic change of P. vivax in Korea, 2002-2003
PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:
31-Oct-2013
[
| E-mail
]
Share
Contact: Ryouhei Nishigaya rnishiga@hosp.ncgm.go.jp Public Library of Science
Continual reintroduction of P. vivax from North Korea could be the cause of change
Malaria is one of the major infectious diseases transmitted by mosquitos, with enormous impact on quality of life. According to World Health Organization figures, as of 2010 there were over 219 million reported cases of malaria with an estimated 660,000 deaths. Plasmodium vivax, which is the second most prevalent species of the human malaria parasite, is widely distributed around the world especially in Asia, Melanesia, the Middle East, South and Central America. 2.85 billion people worldwide live at risk of the infection in 2009.
Vivax malaria was once endemic in Japan including the mainland (Honshu) and the northern island (Hokkaido), but it has been eliminated from these areas as of 1959. In the same way as Japan, the Republic of Korea (South Korea) is another country where vivax malaria had been successfully eliminated by the late 1970s. However, re-emergence of vivax malaria in South Korea was reported in 1993. The first patient was a South Korean soldier who served in the demilitarized zone (a border region between South and North Korea) and had never been abroad. In spite of continuous malaria control measures implemented by the South Korean government, there was a steady increase in the number of reported vivax malaria cases until 2000 (4,183 cases), then a gradual decrease until 2004 (864 cases), when the number of infected civilians who lived in or near the area increased gradually. The number of reported cases fluctuated between 838 and 2,227 per year from 2005 to 2011.
Similarities in the ecology (i.e., climate, vegetation, species of mosquito vector) of Japan and South Korea mean that the Japanese environment is particularly suited to the establishment of Korean strains of vivax malaria. For example, the main vector species of vivax malaria in South Korea is Anopheles sinensis, which in the past has also been the main vector species of vivax malaria in the mainland of Japan, and which remains distributed throughout Japan. In addition, mosquitoes on the mainland of Japan are highly prevalent from June to September (the rainy season and the summer season), which is the same period in which vivax malaria is most prevalent in South Korea.
For these reasons, it is very important not only for South Korea, but also for Japan, to understand the characteristics of vivax malaria in South Korea and to provide a possible explanation as to why, in spite of a continuous malaria control program spanning two decades, efforts to eliminate vivax malaria have been unsuccessful. To answer this question, Dr. Moritoshi Iwagami, et al. conducted a 15-year-long longitudinal study on P. vivax population genetics in South Korea using highly polymorphic neutral markers of the parasites.
The team of researchers from the Japanese National Center for Global Health and Medicine, Inje University and the University of Tokyo analyzed 163 South Korean P. vivax isolates collected from South Korean soldiers who served in the demilitarized zone from 1994 to 2008, using 14 microsatellite DNA loci of the parasite genome. Based on this data, they performed population genetic analysis, with a focus on the differences of the parasite populations between successive years. Through this, they aimed to provide a detailed and precise estimate of the characteristics of the vivax malaria population structure and the temporal dynamics of its transmission.
Their population genetic analyses show that two genotypes coexisted from 1994 to 2001, while three different genotypes coexisted from 2002 to 2008. This result suggested that a drastic genetic change occurred in the South Korean population during 2002 and 2003.
This data suggests that vivax parasites were introduced from another population, most probably from North Korea, especially during 2002 and 2003, and explains why South Korea was not able to eliminate vivax malaria for 20 years. The finding is an example that malaria parasites were transmitted by Anopheles mosquitos between two countries where traveling is basically prohibited. This evidence demonstrates the difficulty of malaria elimination by one country and the need for collaboration between two (or more) adjacent countries for effective malaria elimination.
In the (near) future, a distribution of Anopheles mosquitoes might expand in Japan due to global warming or climate change. Should a certain numbers of vivax malaria patients (and/or carriers of vivax malaria hypnozoites) come to Japan from South Korea and stay in or near A. sinensis breeding sites during summer season, indigenous vivax malaria transmission might occur by locally infected mosquitoes in Japan. Therefore, careful monitoring of all travelers coming from endemic areas of South Korea is required, as is collaboration between both nations in order to prevent the introduction of the malaria parasite into Japan.
###
[
| E-mail
Share
]
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Microsatellite DNA analysis reveals genetic change of P. vivax in Korea, 2002-2003
PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:
31-Oct-2013
[
| E-mail
]
Share
Contact: Ryouhei Nishigaya rnishiga@hosp.ncgm.go.jp Public Library of Science
Continual reintroduction of P. vivax from North Korea could be the cause of change
Malaria is one of the major infectious diseases transmitted by mosquitos, with enormous impact on quality of life. According to World Health Organization figures, as of 2010 there were over 219 million reported cases of malaria with an estimated 660,000 deaths. Plasmodium vivax, which is the second most prevalent species of the human malaria parasite, is widely distributed around the world especially in Asia, Melanesia, the Middle East, South and Central America. 2.85 billion people worldwide live at risk of the infection in 2009.
Vivax malaria was once endemic in Japan including the mainland (Honshu) and the northern island (Hokkaido), but it has been eliminated from these areas as of 1959. In the same way as Japan, the Republic of Korea (South Korea) is another country where vivax malaria had been successfully eliminated by the late 1970s. However, re-emergence of vivax malaria in South Korea was reported in 1993. The first patient was a South Korean soldier who served in the demilitarized zone (a border region between South and North Korea) and had never been abroad. In spite of continuous malaria control measures implemented by the South Korean government, there was a steady increase in the number of reported vivax malaria cases until 2000 (4,183 cases), then a gradual decrease until 2004 (864 cases), when the number of infected civilians who lived in or near the area increased gradually. The number of reported cases fluctuated between 838 and 2,227 per year from 2005 to 2011.
Similarities in the ecology (i.e., climate, vegetation, species of mosquito vector) of Japan and South Korea mean that the Japanese environment is particularly suited to the establishment of Korean strains of vivax malaria. For example, the main vector species of vivax malaria in South Korea is Anopheles sinensis, which in the past has also been the main vector species of vivax malaria in the mainland of Japan, and which remains distributed throughout Japan. In addition, mosquitoes on the mainland of Japan are highly prevalent from June to September (the rainy season and the summer season), which is the same period in which vivax malaria is most prevalent in South Korea.
For these reasons, it is very important not only for South Korea, but also for Japan, to understand the characteristics of vivax malaria in South Korea and to provide a possible explanation as to why, in spite of a continuous malaria control program spanning two decades, efforts to eliminate vivax malaria have been unsuccessful. To answer this question, Dr. Moritoshi Iwagami, et al. conducted a 15-year-long longitudinal study on P. vivax population genetics in South Korea using highly polymorphic neutral markers of the parasites.
The team of researchers from the Japanese National Center for Global Health and Medicine, Inje University and the University of Tokyo analyzed 163 South Korean P. vivax isolates collected from South Korean soldiers who served in the demilitarized zone from 1994 to 2008, using 14 microsatellite DNA loci of the parasite genome. Based on this data, they performed population genetic analysis, with a focus on the differences of the parasite populations between successive years. Through this, they aimed to provide a detailed and precise estimate of the characteristics of the vivax malaria population structure and the temporal dynamics of its transmission.
Their population genetic analyses show that two genotypes coexisted from 1994 to 2001, while three different genotypes coexisted from 2002 to 2008. This result suggested that a drastic genetic change occurred in the South Korean population during 2002 and 2003.
This data suggests that vivax parasites were introduced from another population, most probably from North Korea, especially during 2002 and 2003, and explains why South Korea was not able to eliminate vivax malaria for 20 years. The finding is an example that malaria parasites were transmitted by Anopheles mosquitos between two countries where traveling is basically prohibited. This evidence demonstrates the difficulty of malaria elimination by one country and the need for collaboration between two (or more) adjacent countries for effective malaria elimination.
In the (near) future, a distribution of Anopheles mosquitoes might expand in Japan due to global warming or climate change. Should a certain numbers of vivax malaria patients (and/or carriers of vivax malaria hypnozoites) come to Japan from South Korea and stay in or near A. sinensis breeding sites during summer season, indigenous vivax malaria transmission might occur by locally infected mosquitoes in Japan. Therefore, careful monitoring of all travelers coming from endemic areas of South Korea is required, as is collaboration between both nations in order to prevent the introduction of the malaria parasite into Japan.
###
[
| E-mail
Share
]
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
NIH-funded scientists reveal structure of HIV protein key to cell entry
PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:
31-Oct-2013
[
| E-mail
]
Share
Contact: NIAID Office of Communications niaidnews@niaid.nih.gov 301-402-1663 NIH/National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases
Finding holds promise for HIV vaccine development
Using protein engineering and two different cutting-edge structural biology imaging techniques, researchers have developed a detailed picture of the protein largely responsible for enabling HIV to enter human immune cells and cause infection. An in-depth understanding of the atomic structure of the HIV envelope trimeror Env, the three-component protein found on HIV's surfaceis critical to better understanding how HIV gains entry into cells and for creating potential HIV vaccines.
Atomic-resolution imaging of the Env protein has previously been elusive because of the protein's complex, delicate structure. To capture the image, a team of scientists at The Scripps Research Institute and Weill Medical College of Cornell University engineered a more stable version of the protein. Then, in separate studies, using first cryo-electron microscopy and then X-ray crystallography, the researchers were able to reveal the structure of the Env trimer, how it assembles and how it interacts with broadly neutralizing antibodies that target HIV.
Their research, described in two papers published online today in Science Express, received major support from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health.
###
ARTICLES:
D. Lyumkis et al. Cryo-EM Structure of a Fully Glycosylated Soluble Cleaved HIV-1 Env Trimer. Science Express DOI: 10.1126/science.1245627 (2013).
J.P. Julien et al. Crystal Structure of a Soluble Dleaved HIV-1 Envelope Trimer. Science Express DOI: 10.1126/science.1245625 (2013).
NIAID Director Anthony S. Fauci, M.D, is available to comment on both papers.
To schedule interviews, please contact the NIAID News Office, (301) 402-1663, niaidnews@niaid.nih.gov.
NIAID conducts and supports researchat NIH, throughout the United States, and worldwideto study the causes of infectious and immune-mediated diseases, and to develop better means of preventing, diagnosing and treating these illnesses. News releases, fact sheets and other NIAID-related materials are available on the NIAID Web site at http://www.niaid.nih.gov.
About the National Institutes of Health (NIH): NIH, the nation's medical research agency, includes 27 Institutes and Centers and is a component of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. NIH is the primary federal agency conducting and supporting basic, clinical, and translational medical research, and is investigating the causes, treatments, and cures for both common and rare diseases. For more information about NIH and its programs, visit http://www.nih.gov/.
NIH...Turning Discovery Into Health
[
| E-mail
Share
]
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
NIH-funded scientists reveal structure of HIV protein key to cell entry
PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:
31-Oct-2013
[
| E-mail
]
Share
Contact: NIAID Office of Communications niaidnews@niaid.nih.gov 301-402-1663 NIH/National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases
Finding holds promise for HIV vaccine development
Using protein engineering and two different cutting-edge structural biology imaging techniques, researchers have developed a detailed picture of the protein largely responsible for enabling HIV to enter human immune cells and cause infection. An in-depth understanding of the atomic structure of the HIV envelope trimeror Env, the three-component protein found on HIV's surfaceis critical to better understanding how HIV gains entry into cells and for creating potential HIV vaccines.
Atomic-resolution imaging of the Env protein has previously been elusive because of the protein's complex, delicate structure. To capture the image, a team of scientists at The Scripps Research Institute and Weill Medical College of Cornell University engineered a more stable version of the protein. Then, in separate studies, using first cryo-electron microscopy and then X-ray crystallography, the researchers were able to reveal the structure of the Env trimer, how it assembles and how it interacts with broadly neutralizing antibodies that target HIV.
Their research, described in two papers published online today in Science Express, received major support from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health.
###
ARTICLES:
D. Lyumkis et al. Cryo-EM Structure of a Fully Glycosylated Soluble Cleaved HIV-1 Env Trimer. Science Express DOI: 10.1126/science.1245627 (2013).
J.P. Julien et al. Crystal Structure of a Soluble Dleaved HIV-1 Envelope Trimer. Science Express DOI: 10.1126/science.1245625 (2013).
NIAID Director Anthony S. Fauci, M.D, is available to comment on both papers.
To schedule interviews, please contact the NIAID News Office, (301) 402-1663, niaidnews@niaid.nih.gov.
NIAID conducts and supports researchat NIH, throughout the United States, and worldwideto study the causes of infectious and immune-mediated diseases, and to develop better means of preventing, diagnosing and treating these illnesses. News releases, fact sheets and other NIAID-related materials are available on the NIAID Web site at http://www.niaid.nih.gov.
About the National Institutes of Health (NIH): NIH, the nation's medical research agency, includes 27 Institutes and Centers and is a component of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. NIH is the primary federal agency conducting and supporting basic, clinical, and translational medical research, and is investigating the causes, treatments, and cures for both common and rare diseases. For more information about NIH and its programs, visit http://www.nih.gov/.
NIH...Turning Discovery Into Health
[
| E-mail
Share
]
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
UPV/EHU-University of the Basque Country researchers have developed and patented a new source of light emitter based on boron nitride nanotubes and suitable for developing high-efficiency optoelectronic devices
This news release is available in Spanish.
Scientists are usually after defect-free nano-structures. Yet in this case the UPV/EHU researcher Angel Rubio and his collaborators have put the structural defects in boron nitride nanotubes to maximum use. The outcome of his research is a new light-emitting source that can easily be incorporated into current microelectronics technology. The research has also resulted in a patent.
Boron nitride is a promising material in the field of nanotechnology, thanks to its excellent insulating properties, resistance and two-dimensional structure similar to graphene. And specifically, the properties of hexagonal boron nitride, the focus of this research, are far superior to those of other metals and semiconductors currently being used as light emitters, for example, in applications linked to optical storage (DVD) or communications. "It is extremely efficient in ultraviolet light emission, one of the best currently available on the market," remarked the UPV/EHU researcher Angel Rubio.
However, the light emission of boron nitride nanotubes takes place within a very limited range of the ultraviolet spectrum, which means they cannot be used in applications in which the emission needs to be produced within a broader range of frequencies and in a controlled way (for example in applications using visible light).
The research carried out by the UPV/EHU's NanoBio Spectroscopy Group has come up with a solution to overcome this limitation, and open up the door to the use of hexagonal boron nitride nanotubes in commercial applications.
They have shown that by applying an electric field perpendicular to the nanotube, it is possible to get the latter to emit light across the whole spectrum from the infrared to the far ultraviolet and to control it in a simple way. This ease of control is only to be found in nanotubes due to their cylindrical geometry (these are tubular structures with lengths in the order of micrometres, and diameters in the order of nanometres).
Rubio has been working with boron nitride nanotubes for nearly 20 years. "We proposed them theoretically, and then they were found experimentally. So far, all our theoretical predictions have been confirmed, and that is very gratifying," he explained. Once the properties of layered hexagonal boron nitride and its extremely high efficiency in light emission were known, this research sought to show that these properties are not lost in nanotubes. "We knew that when a sheet was rolled up and a tube was formed, a strong coupling was produced with the electric field and that would enable us to change the light emission. We wanted to show," and they did in fact show, "that light emission efficiency was not being lost due to the fact that the nanotube was formed, and that it is also controllable."
Boron absences
The device functions on the basis of the use of natural (or induced) defects in boron nitride nanotubes. In particular, the defects enabling controlled emission are the gaps that appear in the wall of the nanotube due to the absence of a boron atom, which is the most common defect in its manufacture. "All nanotubes are very similar, but the fact that you have these defects makes the system operational and efficient, and what is more, the more defects you have, the better it functions."
Rubio highlighted "the simplicity" of the device proposed. "It's a device that functions with defects, it does not have to be pure, and it's very easy to build and control." Nanotubes can be synthesised using standard methods in the scientific community for producing inorganic nanotubes; the structures synthesised as a result have natural defects, and it is possible to incorporate more if you want by means of simple, post-synthesis irradiation processes. "It has a traditional transistor configuration, and what we are proposing would work with current electronic devices," he stressed. The "less attractive" part, as specified by Rubio, is that boron nitride nanotubes are still only produced in very small quantities, and as yet there is no economically viable synthesis process on a commercial scale.
Beyond graphene
Rubio is in no doubt about the potential of the new materials based on two-dimensional systems, and specifically, of compounds that offer an alternative to graphene, like, for example, hexagonal boron nitride. Without prejudice to graphene, Rubio believes that the alternative field could have greater potential in the long term and needs to be explored: "It's a field that has been active for over the last fifteen years, even though it has been less visible. We have been working with hexagonal boron nitride since 1994, it's like our child, and I believe that it has opened up an attractive field of research, which more and more groups are joining."
###
Further information:
This research has been conducted by the NanoBio Spectroscopy Group (ETSF-Centre for Scientific Development, Department of Materials Physics, Faculty of Chemistry of the UPV/EHU), led by Prof ngel Rubio, in collaboration with Dr Ludger Wirtz (University of Luxembourg), Dr Claudi Attaccalite (University of Grenoble) and Dr Andrea Marini (CNR Italian Research Council - Rome), who are three veteran researchers in the group.
ngel Rubio is professor of Materials Physics of the UPV/EHU, head of the NanoBio Spectroscopy Group and Chairman of the ETSF-European Theoretical Spectroscopy Facility of the UPV/EHU, as well as external director of the Fritz Haber Institute of the Max Planck Society.
[
| E-mail
Share
]
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
UPV/EHU-University of the Basque Country researchers have developed and patented a new source of light emitter based on boron nitride nanotubes and suitable for developing high-efficiency optoelectronic devices
This news release is available in Spanish.
Scientists are usually after defect-free nano-structures. Yet in this case the UPV/EHU researcher Angel Rubio and his collaborators have put the structural defects in boron nitride nanotubes to maximum use. The outcome of his research is a new light-emitting source that can easily be incorporated into current microelectronics technology. The research has also resulted in a patent.
Boron nitride is a promising material in the field of nanotechnology, thanks to its excellent insulating properties, resistance and two-dimensional structure similar to graphene. And specifically, the properties of hexagonal boron nitride, the focus of this research, are far superior to those of other metals and semiconductors currently being used as light emitters, for example, in applications linked to optical storage (DVD) or communications. "It is extremely efficient in ultraviolet light emission, one of the best currently available on the market," remarked the UPV/EHU researcher Angel Rubio.
However, the light emission of boron nitride nanotubes takes place within a very limited range of the ultraviolet spectrum, which means they cannot be used in applications in which the emission needs to be produced within a broader range of frequencies and in a controlled way (for example in applications using visible light).
The research carried out by the UPV/EHU's NanoBio Spectroscopy Group has come up with a solution to overcome this limitation, and open up the door to the use of hexagonal boron nitride nanotubes in commercial applications.
They have shown that by applying an electric field perpendicular to the nanotube, it is possible to get the latter to emit light across the whole spectrum from the infrared to the far ultraviolet and to control it in a simple way. This ease of control is only to be found in nanotubes due to their cylindrical geometry (these are tubular structures with lengths in the order of micrometres, and diameters in the order of nanometres).
Rubio has been working with boron nitride nanotubes for nearly 20 years. "We proposed them theoretically, and then they were found experimentally. So far, all our theoretical predictions have been confirmed, and that is very gratifying," he explained. Once the properties of layered hexagonal boron nitride and its extremely high efficiency in light emission were known, this research sought to show that these properties are not lost in nanotubes. "We knew that when a sheet was rolled up and a tube was formed, a strong coupling was produced with the electric field and that would enable us to change the light emission. We wanted to show," and they did in fact show, "that light emission efficiency was not being lost due to the fact that the nanotube was formed, and that it is also controllable."
Boron absences
The device functions on the basis of the use of natural (or induced) defects in boron nitride nanotubes. In particular, the defects enabling controlled emission are the gaps that appear in the wall of the nanotube due to the absence of a boron atom, which is the most common defect in its manufacture. "All nanotubes are very similar, but the fact that you have these defects makes the system operational and efficient, and what is more, the more defects you have, the better it functions."
Rubio highlighted "the simplicity" of the device proposed. "It's a device that functions with defects, it does not have to be pure, and it's very easy to build and control." Nanotubes can be synthesised using standard methods in the scientific community for producing inorganic nanotubes; the structures synthesised as a result have natural defects, and it is possible to incorporate more if you want by means of simple, post-synthesis irradiation processes. "It has a traditional transistor configuration, and what we are proposing would work with current electronic devices," he stressed. The "less attractive" part, as specified by Rubio, is that boron nitride nanotubes are still only produced in very small quantities, and as yet there is no economically viable synthesis process on a commercial scale.
Beyond graphene
Rubio is in no doubt about the potential of the new materials based on two-dimensional systems, and specifically, of compounds that offer an alternative to graphene, like, for example, hexagonal boron nitride. Without prejudice to graphene, Rubio believes that the alternative field could have greater potential in the long term and needs to be explored: "It's a field that has been active for over the last fifteen years, even though it has been less visible. We have been working with hexagonal boron nitride since 1994, it's like our child, and I believe that it has opened up an attractive field of research, which more and more groups are joining."
###
Further information:
This research has been conducted by the NanoBio Spectroscopy Group (ETSF-Centre for Scientific Development, Department of Materials Physics, Faculty of Chemistry of the UPV/EHU), led by Prof ngel Rubio, in collaboration with Dr Ludger Wirtz (University of Luxembourg), Dr Claudi Attaccalite (University of Grenoble) and Dr Andrea Marini (CNR Italian Research Council - Rome), who are three veteran researchers in the group.
ngel Rubio is professor of Materials Physics of the UPV/EHU, head of the NanoBio Spectroscopy Group and Chairman of the ETSF-European Theoretical Spectroscopy Facility of the UPV/EHU, as well as external director of the Fritz Haber Institute of the Max Planck Society.
[
| E-mail
Share
]
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) — As cannons thundered and mortar shells exploded nearby, the young Syrian woman in a slinky dark dress and stylish bob performed a song by pop star Adele, taking refuge behind a microphone from the civil war raging outside.
Performing with a guitarist at a cafe in the heart of the historic Old Town of Damascus, Reem Khunsar lost herself in the lyrics. About a failed love, they also struck a chord closer to home: "Who would have known how bittersweet this would taste?"
While most people in the Syrian capital lock themselves fearfully in their homes at night, young Syrians dressed in tight jeans and designer clothes go wild at the handful of clubs still operating in a city once renowned for its nightlife.
"The war can't stop life," declared Oday Al-Khayyatt, as he took in the music scene at the Roma cafe. "You hear bad news in Syria, dangers, war and death. But in our reality, we are still alive."
Such revelries show the human side of a conflict that has killed more than 120,000 people as the Syrian civil war grinds into its third year.
The Damascus nightclub scene often gets mentioned by the Syrian state news agency SANA on its English-language Twitter feed, drawing ridicule from observers outside the country. But people still brave the dangers to come to the cafes to take their mind off what is happening.
At the Roma Cafe, couples smiled as they danced on the black-and-white checkered dance floor. Some smoked flavored tobacco from water pipes. Women, some in big hair and low-cut dresses and others wearing headscarves, chatted as they mingled by the bar. There were no liquor bottles in sight, though some patrons were able to buy alcohol.
"There is a big difference between now and before the war," conceded Titar Sahinian, another young singer. "People are afraid to come out of their houses ... but they still come.
"Of course, it's all devastating. We can't pretend that nothing is happening. But at the same time we can't stop living," she said.
As she spoke, the sound of government cannons pounding rebels just a few miles away echoed down the stone walls of the ancient quarter. Nearby, so-called Popular Committees, local hard-line militiamen brandishing Kalashnikov assault rifles, threw up impromptu roadblocks, searching cars for bombs.
They also kept a close watch on the young revelers, many of whom said they believe the militiamen, die-hard supporters of President Bashar Assad and his embattled government, don't approve of the Damascus nightlife.
"We were afraid of being attacked" by the popular committee militiamen, Roma cafe owner Rami Dahbour said. "We were threatened once. But nothing happened, and we are no longer affected by the threat."
Several mortars launched from rebel positions on the outskirts of Damascus have rained down near the cafe. Still, the singing goes on.
Khunsar said she feels like she is giving hope to the people who come to listen.
"Here in Syria we have not given up," she said. "We hope that everything will go back to where it was before."
As she threw herself into the Metallica classic, "Nothing Else Matters," those in the cafe joined in: "Life is ours and we live it our way, I don't just say, and nothing else matters."
___
Associated Press writers Darko Bandic and Dusan Vranic contributed to this report.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Senate Republicans blocked President Barack Obama's nominees to lead an influential federal court and a housing agency on Thursday, despite Democratic warnings of a return to last summer's partisan brawl over who wields power in the Senate.
In rapid succession, Democrats failed to overcome GOP delaying tactics against Patricia Millett to join the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit and Rep. Melvin Watt to head the Federal Housing Finance Agency.
The votes were 55-38 to free Millett's nomination for final passage and 56-42 for Watt's, but both fell short of the 60 votes needed to break the Republican procedural blockade.
The Millett nomination was the flashpoint because the D.C. circuit court rules on federal agency and White House actions, and Millett's confirmation would have given that court's judges a 5-4 tilt toward those chosen by Democratic presidents. Appointments to that court, which currently has three vacant judgeships, are lifetime positions.
Republicans argued that the D.C. court's workload was lighter than other districts and didn't merit an additional judge. They also said Democrats want to turn that court, considered second in power only to the Supreme Court, into a rubber stamp for Obama administration policies.
"This is the court that can rule for or against the executive orders of this administration," said Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa. "We need to maintain checks and balances of the government."
Democrats say caseload totals for the D.C. circuit are close to its 10-year average. They also say that when Republicans held the White House, they voted to fill the D.C. court's ninth seat with John Roberts, now the chief justice of the U.S.
They also said GOP opposition to Millett is based strictly on politics and warned they might use their 55-45 Senate majority to weaken the Senate minority party's powers to block nominations. Such a move would infuriate Republicans and might prompt retaliatory GOP procedural moves that could grind the Senate's work to a crawl.
"If Republican senators are going to hold nominations hostage without consideration of individual merit, we will have drastic measures," said Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy, D-Vt.
Some senior Democrats have been reluctant to limit minority party power in the Senate, saying it would hurt them whenever the GOP gains the majority. But many younger Democratic senators have been eager to streamline Senate rules.
"The conversation on rules changes can't come fast enough for me," Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., said after Thursday's votes. He called the GOP procedural hurdles "a government shutdown by another tactic."
Last July, Democrats abandoned a threat to change Senate rules after Republicans agreed to supply enough votes for approval of several Obama nominations. Those included his choices to head the Environmental Protection Agency and the Labor Department.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., indicated early Thursday that Democrats might not act immediately, saying, "I appreciate" a suggestion by Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., that the two parties talk about the next steps.
"Always willing to do that," Reid said.
After the votes, Reid said the Millett vote was "hard to comprehend." Asked about the next steps, he said, "Time will only tell."
Reid switched his vote to "no" on the roll calls for both Millett and Watt, a procedural move that gives him the right to force fresh votes on both nominees.
Initially, Millett's nomination seemed to have a potential for a revival. She could get to 60 Senate votes when Reid switches back to "yes;" with certain support from Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., who did not vote; and with the backing of all three senators who voted "present" Thursday: Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, Saxby Chambliss, R-Ga., and Johnny Isakson, R-Ga.
Millett was an assistant solicitor general, representing the administration before the Supreme Court, under both Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush. She has argued 32 cases before the highest court.
Obama has also nominated attorney Cornelia "Nina" Pillard and U.S. District Judge Robert Wilkins to bring the court to its full strength of 11 judges, nominations that have yet to reach the full Senate.
Republicans are backing a bill by Grassley and others to eliminate one of the D.C. court's 11 judgeships and transfer two others to districts with heavier workloads.
The Federal Housing Finance Agency oversees government-owned mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
Watt, D-N.C., is a 21-year House veteran who has served his entire tenure on the House Financial Services Committee. At the housing agency, he would succeed acting director Edward DeMarco, a George W. Bush appointee criticized by Democrats for not letting Fannie and Freddie reduce principal costs for homeowners risking foreclosure.
Democrats have praised Watt for having a pro-consumer record, including opposing risky Wall Street behavior that helped produce the 2008 financial industry collapse. He's won support from the National Association of Realtors and the National Association of Home Builders.
Republicans said Watt was short on technical expertise needed to oversee Fannie and Freddie and said he lacked political independence.
He also faced opposition from the influential conservative groups Heritage Action for America and the Club for Growth. They warned Republicans that their votes on Watt would be counted in their ratings of 2014 candidates.
___
Associated Press writer Henry C. Jackson contributed to this report.
Boston Red Sox's Mike Napoli hits an RBI single during the fourth inning of Game 6 of baseball's World Series against the St. Louis Cardinals Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2013, in Boston. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
Boston Red Sox's Mike Napoli hits an RBI single during the fourth inning of Game 6 of baseball's World Series against the St. Louis Cardinals Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2013, in Boston. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
Boston Red Sox catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia watches as home plate umpire Dana DeMuth calls St. Louis Cardinals' Allen Craig safe on an obstruction during the ninth inning of Game 3 of baseball's World Series Saturday, Oct. 26, 2013, in St. Louis. The Cardinals won 5-4 to take a 2-1 lead in the series. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
Boston Red Sox starting pitcher Jon Lester gets the ball back as St. Louis Cardinals left fielder Matt Holliday runs the bases after hitting a home run during the fourth inning of Game 5 of baseball's World Series Monday, Oct. 28, 2013, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
Boston Red Sox's Jacoby Ellsbury gets past St. Louis Cardinals relief pitcher Kevin Siegrist as he makes it safely back to first on a rundown during the fifth inning of Game 6 of baseball's World Series Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2013, in Boston. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
BOSTON (AP) — The Boston Red Sox built a World Series champion in 2013 by avoiding the expensive free agents they've made mistakes on in the past.
They'll have to do it again this winter.
Center fielder Jacoby Ellsbury is a free agent, as are first baseman Mike Napoli, shortstop Stephen Drew and catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia. The team will almost certainly prevent pitcher Jon Lester from becoming a free agent by picking up his $13 million option.
Expect the team to avoid trying to make a big splash on players like they did when they overpaid for Adrian Gonzalez and Carl Crawford. Instead, general manager Ben Cherington will follow up on a strategy that brought in Shane Victorino, Jonny Gomes and Koji Uehara — all key parts of this year's title.
President Obama speaks on health care at Faneuil Hall in Boston on Oct. 30, 2013.
Photo by Jewel Samad/AFP/Getty Images
Obamacare is under attack. Its website is glitchy, its prices are uneven, and insurance policies that don’t meet its standards are being withdrawn. But President Obama is sticking with it, scolding its Republican critics, and betting that in the long run, he’ll win. He may be right.
Will Saletan writes about politics, science, technology, and other stuff for Slate. He’s the author of Bearing Right. Follow him on Twitter.
Obama’s bet, on a message level, is that the public likes the idea of the Affordable Care Act, even if they’re unhappy with its implementation or some of its features. He’s for something that addresses our health care needs. Republicans, lacking a plausible alternative, offer nothing but obstruction. The law is being implemented. The GOP can’t fight it without, in effect, rolling back coverage and benefits. Changing the law’s details is a popular position. Repealing it isn’t.
Look at the polls. In a CBS News survey taken Oct. 1–2, a majority of Americans—51 to 43 percent—disapproved of the Affordable Care Act. Only 43 percent, however, said the law went “too far in changing the U.S. health care system.” Thirty percent said the law was about right, and 20 percent said it didn’t go far enough. The plurality supported the law or an extension of it. In an NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll taken Oct. 7–9, 43 percent of respondents said the law was a bad idea. Only 38 percent called it a good idea. But 50 percent opposed “totally eliminating federal funding” for it, compared with 39 percent who favored cutting off funds.
Twenty-one percent of Americans in a Gallup poll conducted Oct. 12–13 said they’d like major changes to the law. Ninteen percent said they’d like minor changes. But only 29 percent said they’d like the law to be repealed entirely—less than the 32 percent who took that position three years ago, and not much more than the 24 percent who said they’d like to keep the law as it is. When Gallup pressed further, asking respondents whether the changes they had in mind would scale the law back or expand it, 40 percent of those who wanted changes (and who answered the question either way) said they preferred to expand the law.
A CNN/ORC survey taken Oct. 18–20 found that respondents opposed the law, 56 to 41 percent. But when pressed further, 12 percent—nearly a quarter of those who opposed the law—said it wasn’t liberal enough. Only 38 percent of the entire sample—less than the number who favored the law—said it was too liberal. In a CBS News poll taken Oct. 18–21, a majority disapproved of the law, 51 to 43 percent. But when pressed as to why, the numbers turned upside-down. The percentage who said the law went too far dropped to 43. Twenty-nine percent said the law was about right, and 22 percent—nearly all of them Democrats and independents—said it didn’t go far enough.
Now comes a second NBC/Journal poll, conducted Oct. 25–28. The numbers look grim: Forty-seven percent say Obamacare is a bad idea, up from 43 percent in early October. When they’re asked whether the law “is working well the way it is,” “needs minor modifications to improve it,” “needs a major overhaul,” or “should be totally eliminated,” only 6 percent say it’s working well as is. But among the remaining options, 38 percent of respondents say the law needs minor modifications, 28 percent say it needs a major overhaul, and only 24 percent say it should be completely eliminated. The poll doesn’t ask those who favor a major overhaul whether the law should go further or be scaled back, so we don’t know whether, as in the other surveys, what looks like a majority for repeal or major rollback is really a minority. But the poll does ask whether Obamacare’s website problems “are short-term technical issues that happen in large projects like this and can be corrected” or “point to longer-term issues with the new health care law and its overall design that cannot be corrected.” On that question, 31 percent say the law’s faults can’t be corrected. Thirty-seven percent say they can, and 30 percent say it’s too soon to tell. There’s a majority for fixing or revising the program, but not for purging it.
This puts Republicans in a difficult spot. Their mantra, repeated over and over and over, is that the law must be “entirely repealed and replaced.” “One thing that all Republicans agreed on back in 2009 is that we thought Obamacare was a terrible mistake,” Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell reminded the public on Oct. 20. “We still think that, and we're going to do everything we can in the future to try to repeal it.” At an Oct. 29 press conference, House Speaker John Boehner agreed: “We want to repeal Obamacare and replace it with patient-centered health care.” When a reporter asked whether “Republicans would like to join in with some Democrats to change the law,” Boehner scoffed, “There is no way to fix this monstrosity.”
The polls don’t support that view. There’s a big gap between the public’s dissatisfaction and the GOP’s full-throated antagonism. Obama is filling that gap. He’s incorporating the dissatisfaction into his message of fixing, changing, and improving the law. That’s why he went to Boston yesterday to tout the Massachusetts law on which the Affordable Care Act was modeled. Obama and Gov. Deval Patrick recalled the early flaws in the Massachusetts program and how they were ironed out. Obama also told the story of President Bush’s prescription drug program: “Once it was the law, everybody pitched in to try to make it work.” He conceded Obamacare’s troubles and promised, “We are going to keep working to improve the law.”
The alternative, he argued, was callous spite. “If Republicans in Congress were as eager to help Americans get covered as some Republican governors have shown themselves to be, we'd make a lot of progress,” said Obama. Other governors, he warned, were “so locked in to the politics of this thing that they won't lift a finger to help their own people, and that’s leaving millions of Americans uninsured unnecessarily. That’s a shame. Because if they put as much energy into making this law work as they do in attacking the law, Americans would be better off.”
Obamacare’s problems could worsen. The public could turn against it. It could be repealed. But if its basic concept is as sound as the Massachusetts program—if it’s addressing a widespread problem and can be cleaned up with technical repairs and policy revisions—then the public will stick with it. And the GOP, eventually, will become the party of reform, not repeal.
Tom Donahue's documentary Casting By, which premiered at the Toronto Film Festival in 2012, uses the careers of casting directors such as Marion Dougherty, Lynn Stalmaster and Juliet Taylor -- between them responsible for the ensembles of such films as Midnight Cowboy, Manhattan, Bonnie and Clyde and The Graduate -- to lament that casting is the only "single-card" opening credit that isn't recognized by the Academy Awards. With Casting By opening in New York on Nov. 1 and a week later in Los Angeles, Woody Allen wrote to THR to support the recognition of casting directors by championing his own:
In my case certainly, the casting director plays a vital part in the making of the movie. My history shows that my films are full of wonderful performances by actors and actresses I had never heard of and were not only introduced to me by my casting director, Juliet Taylor, but, in any number of cases, pushed on me against my own resistance. People like Jeff Daniels, Mary Beth Hurt, Patricia Clarkson and others who are people I was unfamiliar with. A number of discoveries and careers have been launched by the energies and resourcefulness of my casting director. Not only did I use Meryl Streep for a small part in Manhattan when she was a relative unknown, but at the best my casting director helped start the film career of Mariel Hemingway and Dianne Wiest, a stage actress completely unknown to me but known by Juliet Taylor. I’m particularly difficult in the casting area because the whole process bores and embarrasses me. If it were up to me we would use the same half dozen people in all my pictures, whether they fit or not. Despite my recalcitrance, Juliet has forced me to meet and to watch the work of many new people and to hire people on nothing more then her strong recommendation. Because my films are not special effects films and are about human beings, proper casting is absolutely essential. I owe a big part of the success of my films to this scrupulous casting process which I must say if left to my own devices would never have happened. I might add also, anecdotally, that despite my firm conviction that I could never persuade luminaries like Saul Bellow, Marshall McLuhan, Susan Sontag, Mayor Koch and others to work in my films, the confidence and insistence of my casting director proved more accurate and I wound up getting these unlikely notables.
In early morning darkness, workers prepare heavy machinery for the day as rebuilding work continues on the beach area of Seaside Heights and Seaside Park, N.J., Tuesday, Oct. 29, 2013. Tuesday marks the one-year anniversary of Superstorm Sandy. A large Sandy-related fire on the boardwalk in September has slowed progress in the area. (AP Photo/Mel Evans)
In early morning darkness, workers prepare heavy machinery for the day as rebuilding work continues on the beach area of Seaside Heights and Seaside Park, N.J., Tuesday, Oct. 29, 2013. Tuesday marks the one-year anniversary of Superstorm Sandy. A large Sandy-related fire on the boardwalk in September has slowed progress in the area. (AP Photo/Mel Evans)
As the sunrises, Sue Dougherty looks for shells along the beach In Seaside Heights, N.J., Tuesday, Oct. 29, 2013. Tuesday marks the one-year anniversary of Superstorm Sandy. (AP Photo/Mel Evans)
As the sunrises, a person looks out over the ocean in Seaside Heights, N.J., Tuesday, Oct. 29, 2013. Tuesday marks the one-year anniversary of Superstorm Sandy. (AP Photo/Mel Evans)
In early morning darkness, workers prepare heavy machinery for the day as rebuilding work continues on the beach area of Seaside Heights and Seaside Park, N.J., Tuesday, Oct. 29, 2013. Tuesday marks the one-year anniversary of Superstorm Sandy. A large Sandy-related fire on the boardwalk in September has slowed progress in the area. (AP Photo/Mel Evans)
In early morning darkness, workers prepare heavy machinery for the day as rebuilding work continues on the beach area of Seaside Heights and Seaside Park, N.J., Tuesday, Oct. 29, 2013. Tuesday marks the one-year anniversary of Superstorm Sandy. A large Sandy-related fire on the boardwalk in September has slowed progress in the area. (AP Photo/Mel Evans)
NEW YORK (AP) — The trauma inflicted by Superstorm Sandy's fierce floodwaters was etched on the faces of many homeowners Tuesday, a year after the storm made landfall, as they recalled the challenges they have faced during the past year.
Rebuilding efforts continued throughout New York and New Jersey even as people stopped to reflect on what was lost.
Sandy made landfall at 7:30 p.m. on Oct. 29, 2012, sending floodwaters pouring across the densely populated barrier islands of Long Island and the Jersey shore. In New York City, the storm surge hit nearly 14 feet, swamping the city's subway and commuter rail tunnels and knocking out power to the southern third of Manhattan.
The storm was blamed for at least 181 deaths in the U.S. — including 68 in New York and 71 in New Jersey — and property damages estimated at $65 billion.
___
A tiny tear trickled down Edward Chaloupka's cheek as he looked out on Long Island's Great South Bay and reflected on the year since Sandy struck.
"I woke up with a nightmare last night," said the marine mechanic of Babylon, N.Y., who lost his job and his home after the storm.
In the dream, Chaloupka saw boats drifting down the street. He said it has been difficult finding work as a marine mechanic because people are still fixing their homes.
"There's not a whole heck of a lot," he said. "You're fixing your house before a boat."
As for the future?
"I don't know," Chaloupka said. "I don't know what's going to happen."
___
At the Staten Island Ferry building, crews of workers still labored to repair elevators and escalators knocked out by Sandy.
Across the street at Our Lady of the Rosary Church, visitors were offered special pamphlets requesting donations to complete repairs on the electrical and heating systems. Photos showing the church in disarray after the storm are misleading, said secretary Diane Ricci.
"It was 10,000 times worse," she said.
Still, Ricci, who's lived in lower Manhattan her whole life, scoffed at the idea that New Yorkers should brace for a repeat of Sandy.
"You can't build a wall around Manhattan," she said. "This was once in a blue moon. ... It was the placement of the moon and the tides. That's it."
___
Angela Morabito feels like she and her husband, Philip, have been on "one roller coaster ride after another" for the past year.
But she could finally see some progress Tuesday, as two dozen volunteers from Staten Island's Tunnel to Towers Foundation and the St. Bernard Project from New Orleans installed insulation and sheet rock in her gutted Midland Beach house on the southeastern shore of Staten Island.
Morabito is grateful for the free labor. She had flood and homeowners insurance but lost much of what she was paid to an unscrupulous contractor who abandoned the job.
"I feel like this is a start to something better," she said. "Finally, one of my prayers is answered. I'm going to have walls! I'm going to have floors to walk on!"
The couple hopes to be back in their home in another month.
___
It doesn't take much for Robert Schipf of Babylon, N.Y., to become emotional when he thinks about the recovery from Sandy, which inundated his two-story Long Island home with about 2 feet of water.
"For me, the easiest word to describe it is 'helpless,'" Schipf said as he choked back a tear in the foyer of the recently renovated house, where new floor tiles have been laid and walls have been replaced.
The repairs cost him about $110,000.
Schipf and his family spent nearly 11 months staying with relatives as their home was fixed.
"We couldn't get straight answers from anyone," he said.
The frustration mounted as he dealt with local, state and federal agencies — as well as insurance underwriters — who could not provide adequate answers.
"None of the insurance companies were ready for this magnitude of storm," he said.
___
Debbie Fortier, of Brick, N.J., drove to Seaside Park hoping to speak with Gov. Chris Christie, who was visiting several Sandy-ravaged towns. Walking out arm-in-arm with him after he finished speaking at the firehouse, she told Christie how her family's house had to be torn down and how her family has yet to receive any aid.
"We're physically, emotionally and spiritually just drained," she said after Christie left. "Does anybody hear us?"
She said she is on a waiting list "for everything" and is particularly bitter that her family started to repair their storm-damaged house, only to have inspectors later tell them it was too badly damaged to fix. They then had to knock it down and move into a friend's basement.
"How long am I supposed to wait?" she asked. "It's been a year. You can't just not move forward."
Yet Fortier said she takes Christie at his word that help is on the way — whenever that might be.
___
Associated Press reporters Wayne Parry in Seaside Park, N.J., Frank Eltman in Babylon, N.Y., and Jonathan Lemire, David Caruso and Tom Hays in New York contributed to this report.
![[ Back to EurekAlert! ]](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_t4tGgxAO8RLPFoasKd0hWSxcE7Hm24rhy7jwg_kh_yVHhUoAzqPuMUpGD-8IUi7Gq8x9JoJSWm7LGqHXksuhyELSw6R7ktMpOvQQIKskI=s0-d){kind=small}
Share