Mayoral candidate's death shocks Miss. town

Handout / Reuters

Marco McMillian, 34, a candidate for mayor of the Mississippi Delta city of Clarksdale, is shown in an undated campaign photograph.

By Matthew DeLuca, Staff Writer, NBC News

Marco McMillian, a black and gay man from Mississippi, announced in January that he would run for mayor of his hometown of Clarksdale. Six weeks later, the 34-year-old was found dead by police on the Mississippi River levee outside the town of 20,000 people.

Residents are still reeling, McMillian?s childhood friend and Clarksdale resident Tony Jackson told the Clarion Ledger, a local newspaper. ?I heard what had happened, and I didn?t even know who they was talking about,? said Jackson, a truck driver and former city police officer. ?When it came to me that it was him, that was a shock.?

Everybody knew about McMillian?s sexual preference growing up, but ?it didn?t matter,? Jackson told the paper.

Another childhood friend said that McMillian?s death had been ?dramatic? for people in Clarksdale, a crime-plagued town best known as a birthplace of the blues.

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?It?s just terrifying to everybody that knew him personally because you ask, ?Why??? Sissiretta Melton, 33, told The Associated Press. ?He knew this town needed him. Kids here have nothing. We don?t even have a decent movie theater. He wanted to bring those things here.?

Investigators charged Lawrence Reed, 22, with McMillian?s murder on Thursday. Reed was hospitalized on Tuesday after he got into a crash while driving McMillian?s car, police said. McMillian was not in the vehicle at the time, and police started their search for the missing man. His body was found Wednesday.

That the promising young man ? a college graduate who had worked at Alabama A&M University and Jackson State University ? was the latest victim of crime in the city saddened but did not surprise residents of Clarksdale.

?You know things are bad when someone like that is killed and you?re not even surprised,? Jackson said. ?There?s too much of this going on here. It seems like someone?s dying every two weeks.?

McMillian cited ?increased crime? in a press release announcing his candidacy, saying that he would work to make the Police Department more transparent and partner with community organizations to provide services to at-risk individuals.

?There?s a lot of people upset about it,? resident Dennis Thomas, 33, told the AP. ?Why would somebody want to do something like that to somebody of that caliber? He was a highly respected person in town. He?s been in the community helping out a lot.?

Authorities have said that they do not think racial or sexual bias played a role in McMillian?s death, and that it is not being investigated as a hate crime. If elected, he would have been among the state?s most prominent openly gay public officials.

?Our hearts go out to the family and friends of Marco McMillian, one of the 1st viable openly #LGBT candidates in Mississippi,? the Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund, a gay rights political action committee, tweeted on Wednesday.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Source: http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/03/02/17161972-mayoral-candidates-death-shocks-mississippi-town?lite

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Human-made material pushes the bounds of superconductivity

Mar. 3, 2013 ? A multi-university team of researchers has artificially engineered a unique multilayer material that could lead to breakthroughs in both superconductivity research and in real-world applications.

The researchers can tailor the material, which seamlessly alternates between metal and oxide layers, to achieve extraordinary superconducting properties -- in particular, the ability to transport much more electrical current than non-engineered materials.

The team includes experts from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Florida State University and the University of Michigan. Led by Chang-Beom Eom, the Harvey D. Spangler Distinguished Professor of materials science and engineering and physics at UW-Madison, the group described its breakthrough March 3, 2013, in the advance online edition of the journal Nature Materials.

Superconductors, which presently operate only under extremely cold conditions, transport energy very efficiently. With the ability to transport large electrical currents and produce high magnetic fields, they power such existing technologies as magnetic resonance imaging and Maglev trains, among others. They hold great potential for emerging applications in electronic devices, transportation, and power transmission, generation and storage.

Carefully layered superconducting materials are increasingly important in highly sophisticated applications. For example, a superconducting quantum interference device, or SQUID, used to measure subtle magnetic fields in magnetoencephalography scans of the brain, is based on a three-layer material.

However, one challenge in the quest to understand and leverage superconductivity is developing materials that work at room temperature. Currently, even unconventional high-temperature superconductors operate below -369 degrees Fahrenheit.

An unconventional high-temperature superconductor, the researchers' iron-based "pnictide" material is promising in part because its effective operating temperature is higher than that of conventional superconducting materials such as niobium, lead or mercury.

The research team engineered and measured the properties of superlattices of pnictide superconductors. A superlattice is the complex, regularly repeating geometric arrangement of atoms -- its crystal structure -- in layers of two or more materials. Pnictide superconductors include compounds made from any of five elements in the nitrogen family of the periodic table.

The researchers' new material is composed of 24 layers that alternate between the pnictide superconductor and a layer of the oxide strontium titanate. Creating such systems is difficult, especially when the arrangement of atoms, and chemical compatibility, of each material is very different.

Yet, layer after layer, the researchers maintained an atomically sharp interface -- the region where materials meet. Each atom in each layer is precisely placed, spaced and arranged in a regularly repeating crystal structure.

The new material also has improved current-carrying capabilities. As they grew the superlattice, the researchers also added a tiny bit of oxygen to intentionally insert defects every few nanometers in the material. These defects act as pinning centers to immobilize tiny magnetic vortices that, as they grow in strength in large magnetic fields, can limit current flow through the superconductor. "If the vortices move around freely, the energy dissipates, and the superconductor is no longer lossless," says Eom. "We have engineered both vertical and planar pinning centers, because vortices created by magnetic fields can be in many different orientations."

Eom sees possibilities for researchers to expand upon his team's success in engineering human-made superconducting structures. "There's a need to engineer superlattices for understanding fundamental superconductivity, for potential use in high-field and electronic devices, and to achieve extraordinary properties in the system," says Eom. "And, there is indication that interfaces can be a new area of discovery in high-temperature superconductors. This material offers those possibilities."

Funding from the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Basic Energy Sciences, National Science Foundation, and the Air Force Office of Scientific Research supported the researchers' work. Eom's collaborators include Eric Hellstrom's and David Larbalestier's group at Florida State University; and Xiaoqing Pan's group at the University of Michigan.

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Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.

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Journal Reference:

1. S. Lee, C. Tarantini, P. Gao, J. Jiang, J. D. Weiss, F. Kametani, C. M. Folkman, Y. Zhang, X. Q. Pan, E. E. Hellstrom, D. C. Larbalestier, C. B. Eom. Artificially engineered superlattices of pnictide superconductors. Nature Materials, 2013; DOI: 10.1038/nmat3575

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/~3/YnuQYS5s1Dg/130303154859.htm

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Most of Fla. house over sinkhole demolished

Demolition experts watch as the home of Jeff Bush, 37, is destroyed Sunday, March 3, 2013, after a sinkhole opened up underneath it late Thursday evening swallowing Bush, 37, in Seffner, Fla. The 20-foot-wide opening of the sinkhole was almost covered by the house, and rescuers said there were no signs of life since the hole opened Thursday night. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)

Demolition experts watch as the home of Jeff Bush, 37, is destroyed Sunday, March 3, 2013, after a sinkhole opened up underneath it late Thursday evening swallowing Bush, 37, in Seffner, Fla. The 20-foot-wide opening of the sinkhole was almost covered by the house, and rescuers said there were no signs of life since the hole opened Thursday night. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)

Jeremy Bush, right, is consoled by an unidentified woman Sunday, March 3, 2013, as he sits outside a home where a sinkhole opened up underneath a bedroom late Thursday evening, swallowing his brother, Jeffrey Bush, in Seffner, Fla. Crews on Sunday began the demolition of the Florida home. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)

Jeremy Bush places flowers and a stuffed animal at a makeshift memorial in front of a home where a sinkhole opened up underneath a bedroom late Thursday evening and swallowed his brother Jeffrey in Seffner, Fla. on Saturday, March 2, 2013. Jeffrey Bush, 37, was in his bedroom Thursday night when the earth opened and took him and everything else in his room. Five other people were in the house but managed to escape unharmed. Bush's brother jumped into the hole to try to help, but he had to be rescued himself by a sheriff's deputy. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)

In this undated photo released by Jeremy Bush, shows his brother Jeff Bush. Jeremy Bush heard a loud crash and screaming coming from his brother's room early Thursday, March 1, 2013 in Seffner, Fla. A large sinkhole opened under Jeff's bedroom and he disappeared together with most of the bedroom furniture. Jeremy jumped into the hole and was quickly up to his neck in dirt. Jeff is presumed dead. (AP Photo/Jeremy Bush, HO)

Brenda Bush is escorted by a Hillsborough County Sheriff's deputy as she places flowers, Saturday, March 2, 2013, at a makeshift memorial in front of a home where a sinkhole opened up underneath a bedroom late Thursday evening and swallowed her son Jeffrey in Seffner, Fla. Jeffrey Bush, 37, was in his bedroom Thursday night when the earth opened and took him and everything else in his room. Five other people were in the house but managed to escape unharmed. Bush's brother jumped into the hole to try to help, but he had to be rescued himself by a sheriff's deputy. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)

SEFFNER, Fla. (AP) ? Crews on Sunday razed more than half of the Tampa-area home over a huge sinkhole that swallowed a man three days ago, managing to salvage some keepsakes for family members who lived there.

Jeremy Bush, 35, tried to save his brother, Jeff, when the earth opened up and swallowed him Thursday night. On Sunday morning, he and relatives prayed with a pastor as the home ? where he lived with his girlfriend, Rachel Wicker, and their daughter, Hannah, 2, and others ? was demolished and waited for firefighters to salvage anything possible from inside.

The firefighters stood just outside the home, gesturing to the family across the street as they sorted items into boxes. As of Sunday afternoon ? when demolition had stopped for the day and only a few walls of the home remained ? a Bible, a jewelry box and a pink teddy bear for Hannah were among the items saved.

The Rev. John Martin Bell of Shoals Baptist Church said he had been with the family all morning. "We just prayed with them," he said. He added that all five who lived in the house ? Bush, Wicker, Hannah and two others ages 50 and 45 ? were in need of support and prayers from the community.

Before the demolition, Bush and a woman were escorted by a deputy to the front of the house. Bush repositioned some flowers from a makeshift memorial to a safer location, then he and the woman knelt in prayer.

People gathered on lawn chairs, bundled up with blankets against unusually chilly weather. Several dozen milled about within view, including officials and reporters.

The search for Jeff Bush, 37, was called off Saturday, and officials said the demolition Sunday would be tricky. A heavy machine with a large bucket scoop was moved into position on what was believed to be solid ground. The 20-foot-wide opening of the sinkhole was almost covered by the house, and rescuers said there were no signs of life since the hole opened Thursday night.

Hillsborough County Administrator Mike Merrill said the goal for Sunday was to knock down the house, and on Monday crews would clear the debris as much as possible to allow officials and engineers to see the sinkhole in the open.

Jeff Bush, 37, was in his bedroom Thursday night in Seffner ? a suburb of 8,000 people 15 miles east of downtown Tampa ? when the ground opened and took him and everything else in his room. Five others in the house escape unharmed as the earth crumbled.

The Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office is conducting the investigation. Detective Larry McKinnon said that sheriff's office and the county medical examiner cannot declare Bush dead if his body is still missing. Under Florida law, Bush's family must petition a court to declare him deceased.

"Based on the circumstances, he's presumed dead, however the official death certificate can only be issued by a judge and the family has to petition the court," McKinnon said.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2013-03-03-Sinkhole%20Swallows%20Man/id-105e3aec84f24dacab40d42626a8a629

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Collaborating for Care Management Innovation | HealthWorks ...

With the onset of sequestration, Texas stands to lose funding for Head Start services, children?s vaccines and meals for seniors.? Add to this potential losses in law enforcement and education funding, one can see that programs, once aiding children, seniors and the homeless by keeping them out of the emergency room, might cease to address this critical need.? Compound these losses with the pressure being exerted by value based purchasing, and the dilemma becomes magnified tenfold.? As if accountable care organizations, medical homes, hospitals and healthcare systems did not have enough on their plate, one wonders where they will find the resources to supplement these activities?

One enterprising non-profit has tackled this challenge head-on.? ?Billed as a nine-year old strategic initiative with a mission to improve the quality, capacity, and accessibility of the healthcare system for vulnerable populations in the City of Camden, the Camden Coalition has analyzed local healthcare system claims data for the purpose of building a repository and sharing data with regards to this typically transient population.? In addition, they operate several health project initiatives that demonstrate a collaborative approach to improving care delivery and patient outcomes in their area.? And by building relationships with executive leadership of the hospitals, social service/public health agencies, state government agencies, leaders at the statewide Medicaid health plans, and policymakers, they have taken a discretely modern approach to healthcare delivery.

Current innovative initiatives garnering attention include the Coalition?s Care Management and Care Transitions programs, aimed at reducing hospital utilization by directing outreach to the ?high flier? population whom frequently lack appropriate access to primary and mental health care.? Designed to target high cost, complex patients for improved care transitions and care coordination, the Coalition is steadfastly working to move these patients into a medical home model.? Upon presenting at the emergency room, patients are divided into one of two groups:? a) those with no primary care access and significant mental/social issues and b) patients with more stable primary care and mental health status.

In the Care Management program, patients meeting specific criteria receive assistance from a social worker, a health outreach worker/medical assistant and a nurse practitioner with primary/specialty care coordination, applying for government assistance, finding temporary shelter and enrolling in medical day programs.? Through stabilization of their social environment and health conditions, the team?s ultimate goal of finding a primary care medical home for the patient can begin.

Patients participating in the Care Transitions program are enrolled in and receive assistance from embedded care management nurses and health coaches from one of two Camden Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHC) ? CAMcare and Project HOPE.? On the path to becoming patient-centered medical homes, these FQHCs are fostering better care transitions and coordination with their hospital and health system partners.

These bold programs have been facilitated by city-wide use of health information exchange and electronic health record use for this targeted population, thereby allowing providers to share information and analyze data for additional care coordination.? Data analysis also remains integral for the monthly Care Management Committee meeting, held at rotating hospitals, in order to review and refine current processes for these programs. And by bringing together?emergency room physicians, hospitalists, specialists, social workers, and nurse discharge planners across the city, more efficient and effective discharge planning and care coordination can help decrease utilization and improve safety, experience and ultimately, quality of care.

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Source: http://healthworkscollective.com/principle-healthcare/86731/collaborating-care-management-innovation

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SpaceX capsule hits a glitch on space station trip

Paul Marks, chief technology correspondent

The Falcon 9 rocket on its way up (Image: NASA)

The high-fives in SpaceX's mission control centre were short-lived today as the commercial space-flight company's Dragon cargo capsule made it into orbit but then failed to ignite all its thrusters. The snag adds some drama to SpaceX's second official mission delivering supplies to the International Space Station.

Until that point, the company's Falcon 9 rocket launch had been flawless. The launch vehicle lifted off on schedule and the Dragon capsule separated smoothly, entering orbit at about 15.20 GMT. Dragon's batteries powered up the craft, and commentary on the SpaceX and NASA webcasts of the launch suggested solar panel deployment was imminent. But then nothing happened.

SpaceX founder Elon Musk, tweeting from the company's mission control centre in Hawthorne, California, said the issue is with three of Dragon's four thruster pods, groupings totalling 18 small thrusters. Normally Dragon waits for these pods to come online before deploying the solar arrays, because they are needed to steer the craft once in orbit.

Company spokeswoman Christina Ra told New Scientist that the spacecraft had experienced an issue with a propellant valve, and said that one thruster pod is running. The craft needs two pods to have a shot at completing the mission. "We did go ahead and get the solar arrays deployed. Once we get at least two pods running, we will begin a series of burns to get to the station," she said in an email.

Dragon is slated to deliver supplies and science experiments to the ISS, including a batch of frozen mouse stem cells for researchers into the human health effects of long-haul space flights.

Getting the solar arrays deployed does not necessarily mean Dragon is in the clear. Whatever stopped the thrusters from working - perhaps the spacecraft's onboard software - may have other surprises in store.

Update 23:27 GMT: Two more thruster pods on the Dragon capsule have come online, Elon Musk announced on Twitter, but the glitch has forced a delay in the capsule's rendezvous with the space station. A planned Saturday docking has been cancelled. NASA doesn't expect a decision on the next possible docking time until tomorrow, though Sunday may be an option.

Source: http://feeds.newscientist.com/c/749/f/10897/s/291b9016/l/0L0Snewscientist0N0Cblogs0Cshortsharpscience0C20A130C0A30Cdragon0Eorbit0Etrouble0Bhtml0Dcmpid0FRSS0QNSNS0Q20A120EGLOBAL0Qonline0Enews/story01.htm

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Study: Depression, Autism And Schizophrenia Share Genetic Links

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, major depression, bipolar disorder and schizophrenia may be linked by common genetic risk factors, according to a new study published in The Lancet. Audie Cornish speaks with study author Jordan Smoller of Harvard Medical School.

Source: http://www.npr.org/2013/03/01/173271247/-study-depression-autism-and-schizophrenia-share-genetic-links?ft=1&f=1007

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Australian lawmakers confident in F-35's future

CANBERRA (Reuters) - Australia's conservative opposition, which is expected to win elections in September, said on Thursday it supported Lockheed Martin's troubled F-35 to be the country's next frontline warplane, despite problems and huge cost blowouts.

A day after the Pentagon's F-35 program chief lashed Lockheed and engine maker Pratt & Whitney for trying to "squeeze every nickel" out of the U.S. government, Australian lawmakers expressed confidence in the futuristic jet.

"The air force is supportive of the project, wants the aircraft and sees it as the future, as do we," said Senator David Johnston, defense spokesman for the opposition, which is forecast to sweep away the minority Labor government in a September 14 vote.

"It is pertinent to our immediate region and it fits into our air combat doctrine perfectly, and to some extent leads the doctrine," Johnston told Reuters from Washington on Thursday after briefings on the F-35 with U.S. officials, who told him the aircraft was "over the hump" with its development.

Australia, a close American ally, is one of the largest international customers for the F-35, with plans to buy up to 100 to replace its ageing fleet of F/A-18 Hornet fighters and already retired F-111 strike bombers, at a cost of A$16 billion.

But amid delays and development woes with the $396 billion aircraft, including the grounding of the 51 aircraft test fleet last week, Canberra is also expected to decide in June to double its fleet of 24 Boeing Co F/A-18 Super Hornets to prevent a frontline gap until the F-35 is delivered later in the decade.

That, and a decision to outfit 12 of the Super Hornets as advanced EA-18G Growlers with radar-jamming electronic weapons - means Canberra will have a mixed frontline fleet.

An announcement on the extra Hornets and the timetable for delivery of the first squadron of F-35s, also known as Joint Strike Fighters (JSF), will likely come in June with the government's release of a new defense strategy blueprint.

Johnston, the man likely to decide the purchase next year if the conservatives win, said while both of Australia's major political blocs differed on defense budgeting and timing of acquisitions, the Joint Strike Fighter had broad support.

"At this stage we are optimistic that Australia will be a customer for a very significant number, although what that number will be is still a little bit up in the air," said Johnston.

Defense analysts predict Australia might end up buying between 50 and 70 of the fighters instead of 100, although Canberra could also buy the full number but over a longer timeframe beyond 2020, depending on a budget recovery.

Australian is also closely watching the budget battle in Washington, where $85 billion worth of spending cuts are due to kick in on Friday, hitting defense and possibly orders for 2,363 F-35s among the U.S. Air Force, Marines and Navy.

Lockheed is developing three variants for the United States and eight partner countries that helped fund the plane's development - Britain, Australia, Italy, Turkey, the Netherlands, Denmark, Norway and Canada. Two other countries, Israel and Japan, have also placed orders.

Canada in December flagged it could cut plans to buy 65 aircraft, while Italy has also scaled back orders and Turkey has delayed its purchases by two years.

Australia is the second biggest international buyer after Britain, and its small air force is one of the most technically advanced in Asia and a pointer to emerging regional defense capabilities.

But a slowing of the country's resources export boom is forcing the Labor government to look for savings.

Defense Minister Stephen Smith last May deferred an order for 12 F-35s by two years, and has so far contractually committed to buying only two.

The influential Greens party, which has the upper house Senate balance of power, failed to find support in parliament on Thursday to cancel Australian F-35 orders and put the estimated $13 billion saving into development aid.

The opposition spokesman on military purchasing, Gary Humphries, said a future conservative government would continue with the F-35, as the high-tech jet would smooth cooperation with allied air forces in Japan and possibly Singapore.

"This could be the shape of air power for effectively the 21st Century. The JSF holds much greater promise for Australian air power needs than any other alternative," Humphries said.

"If the JSF fell over entirely, it would put not just the Australian air force, but other air forces around the world in a dire position."

(Editing by Dean Yates and Michael Perry)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/australian-lawmakers-confident-f-35s-future-015747880--business.html

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