WVU Research In the News

Surgeon Implants Diaphragm Pacemaker In Pediatric Patient

Fri, 11 May 2012 10:47:00 EST

MarketWatch.com

A surgeon for WVU Healthcare has implanted a diaphragmatic pacemaker in a pediatric patient, making West Virginia University’s medical center only the second in the country to use this device on a young patient, after Case-Western Reserve University in Cleveland.Meg Throckmorton, 16, of Waynesburg, Pa., received the device after sustaining a high cervical spine injury resulting in quadriplegia while practicing for a dance competition.Jennifer Knight, M.D., a trauma surgeon at WVU Healthcare’s Jon Michael Moore Trauma Center, was on call the evening of Friday, April 13, when Meg arrived in Morgantown after her injury, and was brought in to consult on the case. She also is the same surgeon who was first in the state to implant a diaphragmatic pacemaker in an adult patient

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/surgeon-implants-diaphragm-pacemaker-in-pediatric-patient-2012-04-27

http://www.sacbee.com/2012/04/27/4448579/surgeon-implants-diaphragm-pacemaker.html

WVU seeks contractor for fuel station - Hydrogen plant planned for Mileground Road

Mon, 30 Apr 2012 11:06:00 EST

Dominion Post

One local organization is powering up its efforts for a new type of fueling station. This week, WVU began soliciting bids for contractors to provide infrastructure work for a hydrogen fueling station near the Bicentennial House. The station will be built on 1.5 acres of land along Mileground Road. The station is being developed by the National Alternative Fuels Training Consortium (NAFTC) which is headquartered at WVU. The cost of the project won’t be known until the bidding process is complete. Companies have until May 18 to submit their bids. The bid opening and announcement of the winner will happen soon after the mid-May deadline. The fueling station has been in the plans for the NAFTC for a few years. Hydrogen fuel for passenger vehicles will be produced on site, using electricity to separate the water molecules. The station will be open to the public. There is only one other hydrogen fueling station in the state — at Yeager Airport in Charleston.

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Clostridium difficile Infection Incidence, Costs Reach Historic Highs

Mon, 30 Apr 2012 10:56:00 EST

aafp.org

Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) took center stage in a report recently published in Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) that stated “the incidence, deaths, and excess health care costs resulting from CDIs in hospitalized patients are all at historic highs.”R. Gregory Juckett, M.D., of Morgantown, W. Va., said CDI poses one of the most challenging infection control problems health care professionals face today. “We should have a high degree of suspicion with any diarrheal illness so that cases will be quickly identified, isolated and treated,” said Juckett, who is a professor of family medicine at West Virginia University in Morgantown. Juckett said it is sobering how easily C. difficile spores can spread

http://www.aafp.org/online/en/home/publications/news/news-now/health-of-the-public/20120430community-onsetcdi.html

Vasgird writes chapter in research integrity textbook

Sun, 29 Apr 2012 10:54:00 EST

The Dominion Post

WVU’s point man for helping to ensure the integrity of all research performed by faculty has contributed a key chapter to a new textbook receiving international attention. Daniel Vasgird, director of the WVU Office of Research Integrity and Compliance, was asked to author a chapter on responsible conduct of research training for “Promoting Research Integrity in a Global Environment,” a new book edited by experts from the Nanyang Technological University of Singapore and the University of Michigan. The book is based on proceedings from the Second World Conference on Research Integrity in Singapore in 2010. Vasgird was an invited guest speaker. The Office of Research Integrity and Compliance works to help faculty, staff and students comply with all applicable federal, state and institutional requirements and policies. Research integrity and compliance areas covered by Vasgird and his office include human subjects’ protections, animal welfare, biosafety, export control, conflict of interest and the responsible conduct of research. “Research, representing the systematic side of science, generally flourishes when the public that supports it and ultimately makes use of its products has a high regard for its ways and means,” Vasgird wrote in the book. “Science and the global public can be seen in a contractual relationship, sometimes explicit and sometimes implicit. Therefore, every effort must be made to bolster the invaluable commodities of respect and trust.”

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WVU professor rehabilitates people who stutter

Sun, 29 Apr 2012 10:53:00 EST

NECN.com

At 67, Ken St. Louis is still working — because he still has work to do. He’s a speech pathologist and researcher in WVU’s College of Human Resources and Education who is known internationally as an authority on stuttering. He grew up stuttering himself, in a family of talkers and storytellers on a ranch in northwestern Colorado. He knows all about the social shadows stuttering can cast. It got worse, when, as a teenager, he started asking girls out. Speech therapy was logistically impossible then, he said. The family ranch was unto itself. The nearest town, and this was a small one, was 70 miles away.

http://www.necn.com/04/29/12/WVU-professor-rehabilitates-people-who-s/landing_health.html?&apID=d725ae6eccf94e4e978eccb696443247

Statler's gift reshapes engineering college

Sun, 29 Apr 2012 10:52:00 EST

Dominion Post

When Ben Statler donated $34 million to the WVU College of Engineering recently, he did more than give the college a new name. He set what will be henceforth known as the Benjamin M. Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources on a whole new trajectory. One that will position it as one of the leading engineering colleges in the country, according to dean Gene Cilento. Those brass tacks, he said, include using a portion of the money — $9 million — toward the construction of a new building, which is scheduled to break ground in August. The new building will offer more office space, lecture rooms, research space and a new learning center for students. Labs are expensive to retrofit, Cilento said, and this money gives the college the opportunity to build new. It will also allow for further growth of a college that already claims 3,700 students — putting it in the top 60-65 in the country in terms of engineering enrollment and degrees awarded.

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12,000 Students from 32 Countries and Their Robots Compete in International Robotics Championship, April 25-28

Sun, 29 Apr 2012 10:50:00 EST

MarketWatch.com

Over the weekend, 30,000 participants, fans, families, educators and industry leaders celebrated students’ engineering and robotics prowess at the annual FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Championship, held in St. Louis, Mo., at the Edward Jones Dome. The FIRST Championship honored long-time supporters of the FIRST mission:—Woodie Flowers Award, founded by Dr. William P. Murphy Jr. to recognize an outstanding engineer or teacher who best demonstrates teaching excellence in teaching science, math and creative design—Dr. Earl Scime, chair of Physics Department, West Virginia University; Mentor, Team 2614, MARS, Morgantown, W.Va.

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/biggest-firstr-championship-ever-features-nba-hall-of-famer-reigning-world-series-champion-pop-superstar-celebrity-chef-inventors-and-government-officials-2012-04-29

Scientific confirmation - Studies show that coyotes eat a significant amount of deer

Sun, 29 Apr 2012 10:46:00 EST

Charleston Gazette

Science has confirmed what West Virginia’s hunters have long suspected: Coyotes eat a lot of deer. A 20-month study of coyotes’ dietary habits found that deer remains were found in nearly 60 percent of coyotes’ stomach contents and manure samples. Geriann Albers, the West Virginia University graduate student who coordinated the research, revealed her findings recently at a meeting of the Northeastern Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies. She didn’t mince words.

http://wvgazette.com/Outdoors/201204280147

Physics has new home in White Hall

Sat, 28 Apr 2012 10:51:00 EST

The Dominion Post

Dr. Diandra Leslie-Pelecky needs a room that doesn’t move. At all.Inside the room, she moves particles that are 1,000th the diameter of a hair. Just like the children’s toy Wooly Willy, in which a magnet clusters small magnetic pieces over a paper face, the nanoparticles she manipulates could one day be steered through the human body to target drug delivery. With this kind of delivery, patients could see fewer side effects and more healing. The WVU physicist has new digs in a solid, stone building now that the nearly $35 million White Hall renovation is finished. Her lab, complete with a 12-by-6 foot vacuum chamber to hold the nanoparticles, has centrally chilled water, minimal vibrations, vacuum pump exhaust lines and electrical outlets in all the right places. You’d think every research lab would have these features, but she’s seen places where exhaust is funneled out the window.

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WVU represented at science festival - Officials hope to draw in new students

Sat, 28 Apr 2012 10:49:00 EST

The Dominion Post

WVU has packed some of its most unusual science programs and is headed to the nation’s capital, hoping to show itself off and recruit a new group of future scientists to Morgantown. The Mountaineers will be well represented at the second annual USA Science and Engineering Festival, which is being held today and Sunday in Washington, D.C. Associate Vice President of Strategic Planning Nigel Clark said the event features presentations by a variety of organizations involved with science. Representatives from industry, as well as academia, will attend. This is WVU’s first year participating in the event. The university will try to interest potential students who interested in the science, technology, engineering and math fields, also known as STEM fields. WVU will have forensic science equipment at its display, Clark said. Stephen Raso, a forensic ence major, will do presentations about forensic science, something he has always had an interest in. Another presentation will come from the National Alternative Fuels Training Consortium (NAFTC). The consortium is based at WVU and headquartered in a facility on Bakers Ridge Road. The NAFTC is taking its crosssectioned Toyota Prius to the conference. The organization cut into the car to show people how the different technology systems work, Assistant Director Judy Moore said. There are also interactive opportunities using iPads connected to the vehicle.
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