Archive for October, 2010
Senior Fine Arts Major Exhibit 2009
Sunday, October 31st, 2010
The annual Senior Fine Arts Majors exhibit will open this Saturday, April 18th at 4pm with a reception, but I thought you might like to see some sneak peaks while we are still installing all the artwork.
There is some really exciting work, so plan on seeing the show before it ends on May 10th!
Magneetocorpus –Art & Tech Exhibition opening, Thursday, March 11, 2010 5pm to 8pm, in Haskett Hall soundstage and gallery.
Saturday, October 30th, 2010
Department of Art at The Ohio State University
It’s on! Wisconsin Dems officially back recall effort against GOP Senators
Friday, October 29th, 2010
The Democratic Party of Wisconsin is now officially backing a citizen-led recall campaign against eight Republican state senators. The page announcing their support for the campaign, which is also a donation page to the Wisconsin Democratic Party, can be found here.
Greg Sargent interviews the chair of the Wisconsin Democratic Party about this development:
The Wisconsin Democratic Party has decided to throw its weight behind a nascent grassroots drive to recall a number of GOP state senators, a move that will considerably increase the pressure on them to break with Governor Scott Walker, the Dem party chair confirms to me.
“The proposals and the policies that Republicans are pushing right now are not what they campaigned on, and they’re extreme,” the party chair, Mike Tate, said in an interview. “Something needs to be done about it now. We’re happy to stand with citizens who are filling papers to recall these senators.”
We are going to be supporting the recall campaign. If you live in Wisconsin, sign up with SEIU and Daily Kos to help gather the necessary signatures.
As this story develops, we will have more on other ways you can help the recall effort. On Wisconsin!
A Deadly Hospital-Acquired Infection Becomes a Products Liability Claim
Friday, October 29th, 2010In today’s news is a tragic story about the parents of a two-year old boy whose death from a nosocomial (hospital-acquired) infection they blame on alcohol wipes contaminated with Bacillus cereus. According to the complaint filed February 13th in federal court here in Houston the Kothari’s son developed bacterial meningitis following an otherwise uneventful craniotomy performed at Children’s Memorial Hermann Hospital for a benign arachnoid cyst. During the course of his treatment alcohol pads and swabs were used on his surgical wounds and within days he developed a B. cereus infection (established by positive cultures from cerebrospinal fluid) and died shortly thereafter. The next month Triad, alleged to have been the manufacturer of the alcohol pads and swabs, recalled the products saying they were potentially contaminated with B. cereus. Two days later the FDA announced a recall of all such Triad pads and swabs saying that their use "could lead to life-threatening infections, especially in at risk populations, including immune suppressed and surgical patients."
It’s estimated that in the U.S. two million patients are sickened and 80,000 are killed annually by nosocomial infections. Accordingly, it’s a very big problem and so has the potential to be a very big mass tort.
Yet a big part of the problem, and the biggest impediment in the past to tort claims arising from these illnesses, are the twin issues of tracing the infection to a putative source and then establishing that the bacteria cultured from the victim are the descendants of bacteria found in the defendant’s products or at its manufacturing facilities. Since most bacteria responsible for nosocomial infections, including B. cereus, are ubiquitous in the environment and were, until recently, impossible to distinguish phylogenetically, establishing causation has been essentially impossible. Now, thanks to epidemiology returning to its humble origins and genetic sequencing taking giant strides forward, it may be possible to trace an infection to its origin and conclusively establish ancestry.
Unfortunately the Kothari complaint does not reveal whether or not anything beyond a post hoc ergo propter hoc inference supports their claim. One allegation is that B. cereus infections are rare in hospitals and yet the first thing that pops up on PubMed is "Bacillus cereus Bacteremia Outbreak Due to Contaminated Hospital Linens". And as to the proposition that B. cereus infection is somehow unusual and thus more likely due to something gone astray see "Bacillus cereus, a Volatile Human Pathogen". Finally, as to the claim that B. cereus meningitis in children is exceedingly rare see (ungated) "Bacillus cereus Bacteremia and Meningitis in Immunocompromised Children".
Did the hospital have a record of B. cereus infections? Were catheters employed that B. cereus could have used as an escalator to infection? Was the strain identified identical to the one that prompted the recall? Were there other sources of that strain? If so, how is one deemed more likely the cause than the other?
Efforts to identify strains of disease-causing bacteria and to trace them back to their origin have put us on the verge of being able to identify and hopefully thereupon eradicate the causes of an enormous portion of human suffering. But we’re not quite there yet as demonstrated by tonight’s report of the National Academy of Sciences on the 2001 anthrax attacks. B. cereus is a cousin of B. anthracis – the causative agent of anthrax. B. anthracis was long thought to be less promiscuous than its cousins and so less likely to vary widely thus making its origin easier to identify. But it ain’t so. See Chapter 5.2 "Identification of the B. anthracis Strain". The very same difficulties will likely hamper any attempt to match strains of B. cereus.
Establishing a common strain of bacteria and tracing it back to a particular defendant remains a very high hurdle for any plaintiff to clear. But when the day comes that both are readily doable "Katy bar the door" because the number of deaths from cancer, heart disease, diabetes, etc being laid at the feet of infectious agents is staggering and rising every day. Worst of all, thanks to the ability of these ancient predators to evolve at a fantastic rate. there’s little anyone can do to predict where and from which formerly benign little bug the next onslaught is likely to arise.
Illustration Chair Steps Into Acclaimed Role
Thursday, October 28th, 2010
Image from cincinnati.com
CCAD Illustration Chair C.F. Payne was recently interviewed about the challenges of stepping into a creative role that was long-held with acclaim by a former college classmate.
Payne told Cincinnati.com that the bar to create a collectible poster to promote the Cincinnati chapter of the American Heart Association’s Mercy Heart Mini-Marathon and Walk was set high by John Maggard, who illustrated 30 previous posters for the annual event but had a deadline conflict in 2011.
The concept for Payne’s poster, which was recently unveiled at an invitation-only event in advance of the March 2011 race and walk, was sketched on a napkin while the two artists, who both attended Miami University in the 1970s, dined together.
Read the full article about Payne at cincinnati.com.
Columbus College of Art & Design Blog
Columbus State Police Tips
Wednesday, October 27th, 2010
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Prevent and deter theft on campus
The Columbus State Department of Public Safety has some quick tips to keep your car and property safe on campus. While the theft rate from vehicles only averages three to six per month, one theft is too many. Most campus thefts can be prevented with your help. Take a look at the short video below for some quick tips. Some Key Safety Tips: Text of video: Sgt. Becky Johnson, Columbus State Police: When people walk through the parking lot it is very simple for them to look in a vehicle and see either a laptop, some books that are high-dollar items, or a GPS unit. They'll go ahead and do a smash-and-grab. That's what we've been seeing here lately. Here we've got textbooks. Here's somebody's purse. (Talking to student) You really shouldn't leave your backpack in the backseat just because it's a theft item. They see it in there so I'd suggest putting it in your trunk. What's interesting is a lot of these people that have book bags keep everything in them. Their driver's license, social security card, laptop. So when they get it stolen they've lost everything, their entire life. When somebody walks by here, if I'm a thief, I'm going to see there is a GPS unit here. So it's going to take me less than 30 seconds to smash out the window and go ahead and grab it. (First) We are an urban campus so we ask that you go ahead and lock your vehicles. Number two, if you bring valuables on campus, take them with you or put them in your trunk so they're out of view. Right over here we have a backpack just sitting by itself. It takes someone five seconds to act like a student, pick it up and walk away with it. Now if I walk up behind that guy and grab that bag, he'd never know. Put it around the bottom of your chair, put it through your foot, so it can't easily be stolen. |
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Extending Edges: 2010 Senior Fine Arts Majors Exhibition
Monday, October 25th, 2010
Saturday, April 17th marked the opening of the 2010 senior fine arts majors exhibit, Extending Edges, in the Ross Art Museum. Showcasing the work of 14 graduating seniors, it includes printmaking, photography, painting, ceramics, metalworking and drawing.
Plan to visit this celebration of OWU’s seniors before May 8th, when it all disappears!
Permanent Collection Addition – Wanda Ewing
Sunday, October 24th, 2010
As a result of her highly successful exhibition here at the Ross Art Museum in February and March, we were able to purchase 2 prints. Wanda’s work is fun, provocative and empowering. This piece is block printed on old wallpaper!
2010 Undergraduate Spring Juried Exhibition
Friday, October 22nd, 2010
You must fill out this application and turn it in with the work you are submitting:
Department of Art at The Ohio State University
Columbus State Student Hero
Thursday, October 21st, 2010
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COLUMBUS STATE STUDENT HELPS POLICE OFFICER NAB A SUSPECT
Columbus State's campus is a small portion of the surrounding Discovery District. With dozens of businesses — including another college – there's a full-time safety and security agency patrolling public areas connecting each property. One of the security ambassadors — as they're known — is Rich Smith. A Columbus State nursing student by day — security ambassador by night. Last February he noticed a suspicious person and radioed for Columbus Police. Once the special duty officer arrived and started following the man, Rich continued on with his rounds until an alarming radio call minutes later. Rich Smith, CSCC Student & Security Ambassador: Coming down the alley when I got a radio call that there was an officer in need of help. He knew what officer it was — and about where they'd be — Broad and Washington. Rich Smith:I ran down and saw them here on the sidewalk — they were wrestling. With back up still minutes away — it was up to him. Rich Smith: So I had to get down here and make sure the officer still has his weapon. Once I saw that he still had his weapon I was able to hold him down to help the officer make the arrest. His boss, as you'd imagine, was pleased it all worked out. Ben Barker, Capital Crossroads Special Improvement District: I was proud to know he was at the right place at the right time. But of course I always urge caution because we never know what that person has on them in terms of weapons. Rich Smith:It turned out to be an okay situation because everybody lived to see another day. That's the reason I did what I did. Just one Columbus State Student — making a real difference in someone else's life. |
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