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Show StatesmanCampus News Wednesday, Oct. 6, 2010 Page 3 Briefs Campus & Community Plasma center ready to expand KENNY TURLUR, a research assistant, and Steve Aust, biochemistry professor, run tests in the biochemistry Iab.These testing procedures lend to the possibility of safer optic surgery. AMY HOUMAND photo Research to improve cataract surer By MEGAN BAINUM assistant news editor In an attempt to make cataract surgery safer, USU Professor Steven Aust has been researching ways to keep potentially harmful free radicals from generating. Free radicals are atoms or group of atoms with at least one unpaired electron. In the body it is usually an oxygen molecule that has lost an electron that stabilizes itself by stealing an electron from a nearby molecule. "Electrons usually exist in pairs, which makes them stable, but free radicals contain an unpaired electron so they are always searching for another electron, making them very reactive," Aust said. He said in the case of high energy ultrasound, it is thought that water is split into a hydrogen atom and the hydroxyl radical. "The hydrogen atom is reductive, so, not very dangerous, but the hydroxyl radical is a potent oxidant," Aust said. "It is thought to be involved in many diseases and the reason why we need antioxidants in our diet, like vitamin E." He said it is popular to add antioxidants to all kinds of food but "unfortunately we don't know how our bodies get oxidized, so we don't know what antioxidants might be affective. Vitamins E and C are very important, along with vitamin A, which is a different type of antioxidant." Vitamin A protects us from oxidation catalyzed by light, which is most likely the cause of cataracts. The research Aust has been working on is with Alcon, a leading company in eye care, to determine if their equipment generated free radicals and whether there was a way to lessen the amount of free radicals generated. Aust said it started 10 years ago when an Alcon scientist approached him about reviewing a published article which suggested high energy ultrasound would generate free radicals. He said Alcon was interested because they had developed an instrument to remove cataracts by high energy ultrasound. "The company came to me asking if I could verify the hypothesis that high energy ultrasound did acutally generate free radicals," Aust said. "We showed that the hydroxyl radial was indeed generated by the instrument used to remove cataracts. We published those results in the Journal of Cataract and Refractive Surgery in 2001." Then a few years ago, Aust said Alcon contacted him again to see if there was a way in determining the amount of hydroxyl radicals being generated. If that amount could be determined, then the ways to minimize that generation could be investigated. Aust said Alcon approached him after investigating several laboratories and had decided Aust would most likely be successful and result in publishable data. "I don't want to brag, that is not the point here," Aust said, "but I have a rather distinguished record of publishing, many in the area of free radical chemistry and toxicology." Aust said the fact that Alcon came to him to help with their research is "very indicative of the importance of excellence in research and publishing." He said it can result in support for jobs, as well as great opportunities for students like medical or graduate school. "It is very important for companies like Alcon ASUSU approves iPod application one-to-many. ,, IntelliGuard currently has over one million customers and deems itself the "dependable choice" with 26 years of state-of-the-art emergency notification technology, mostly with Emergency First Responders. Now branching off to schools, mainly universities, the representative at the council meeting said IntelliGuard felt the need for their products, largely due to the 83 shooting incidents that have occurred over the last 10 years at universities across the nation. So far the system has been adopted by a few universities as a pilot program. If ASUSU approves, USU will be the eighth school to take part in the pilot. The program will require 50 participants and an hour of time for two days along with a survey. Students will be given a key chain that will notify them of an emergency as they follow their daily schedule. USU will receive a fully-funded system including the thermostat-like wall units and LCD signs. The cost of running the system has yet to be determined since the cost is based on how many devices are ordered. The ASUSU council members will deliberif By JESSICA SWEAT staff writer After the traditional opening of an ASUSU Executive Council meeting and a large round of applause for Utah State's highly celebrated win this past Friday, the round table was almost full of visitors waiting to address the council. The visitors included representation from the company IntelliGuard Systems and from USU Parking and Transportation Services. Addressing the council first was IntelliGuard, which was presented by American Messaging. Representatives briefed the council on a new emergency alert system that may be tested and then implemented on USU's campus. They helped the council understand the devices and how they can make USU safe. The IntelliGuard System is a comprehensive mass alert system with messages being sent to all devices in all locations. This means a message can be sent from one individual and within seconds, be at the hands of thousands with no chance of delays or absence. It is a "dedicated system" with no other traffic and categorized as I See PARKING, page 4 to fund research that will result in peer-reviewed publications. This gives data credibility," Aust said. Alcon provided the instruments and other necessary supplies for the research. Aust said they also provided grants to the university for him to hire students to do the research, and hired Aust as a consultant because he had retired from being a professor. Kenny Turley, a research assistant, said he was interested in working with Aust because it would be an advantage to him in becoming a physician's assistant. "As I was searching out research opportunities I wanted to find one that was geared toward the medical side," Turley said. "Dr. Aust explained that his research dealt with the formation of hydroxyl radicals during cataract surgery. They wanted to limit the radical formation to make the operation better and safer. My interest was sparked because his research was based on medicine and the chemistry behind it, both of which I could potentially use in the future." Turley said he hopes to improve how medical care is administrated, and cataract surgery is something that can be improved. He said by figuring out the methods on how to limit hydroxyl radical formations during cataract surgery, "we can help ophthalmologists improve how they administer care." Turley also said he enjoys seeing the results research brings. "As I run experiments and try new things, it is always fun when the results are what you are expecting," Turley said. —megan.b@aggiemagusu.edu Guns: Students may have on campus with permit I continued from page 1 don't have to repeat training, or continue their training once the permit has been received. "Now, just about anyone without a criminal record can get a concealed weapons permit, but my worry is, how good they are under stress, and how good of a shot they are," Milne said. The Utah Criminal Code reads that "A person may not possess any dangerous weapon, firearm, or sawed-off shotgun at a place that the person knows, or has reasonable cause to believe, is on or about school premises," and the possession of such is a class A misdemeanor. School is defined in the Criminal Code as any public or private school, the grounds of a school, through elementary, middle school, secondary, and post-secondary school, or anywhere that is hosting a school-sponsored event. Camp said Utah and USU's laws regarding packing on campus are not as strict as schools in the East, and said one member of the College Republicans has experience with the guidelines at other schools. "He is from Connecticut, and he said there is nowhere that having concealed weapons would be allowed on campus. We're really privileged that our state is so respectful of our rights," Camp said. Camp said he believes that the more politicians try to limit the use of guns, the more of a problem they will become, and he said the situation is much like drugs. "The illegality of it can cause more problems. We're so infected with so many drugs, it's because they're illegal. I think the crime problems in Chicago are caused by citizens not having guns," Camp said. "Guns make our nation safer than the harm they cause." — april.ashland@aggiemail.usu.edu Today Biomat USA, one of the world's leading producers of human blood plasma for the manufacture of life-saving plasma therapies, announced completion of a $600,000 capital expansion project for its Logan plasma donor center. The renovation also included a number of facility upgrades and improvements that will enhance the donation experience. As a result of the facility expansion, the Company plans to add additional full time staff to bring the total number of Biomat USA employees at the Logan facility to fifty-two. "Our donors are already familiar with our safe procedures exceptional customer service," said Samantha Archibald, facility manager of the Logan donor center, "and now they will get to enjoy a state-of-the-art facility with amenities such as flat screen TVs and continuous movies during the donation process." With the expansion and renovation complete, the facility will be capable of accepting up to 1,500 plasma donations per week and will benefit from an improved facility layout and better efficiency in the donation process. The Biomat USA center is located at 1061 North Main Street. "We are pleased to be able to invest in the Logan facility and demonstrate our commitment to both the community and patients worldwide," stated Chris Barber, Northwestern Division General Manager for Biomat USA. "The ability to increase our staff size and expand our business is good for the Company and good for Logan," Barber said. Night to display two jazz bands The jazz bands from Utah State University's Caine College of the Arts and the Department of Music kick off their 2010-2011 concert season with a Big Band Jazz Concert Wednesday, Oct. 13, 7:30 p.m., at the USU Performance Hall. The jazz bands include the USU Jazz Ensemble, under the direction of Todd Fallis, and Jazz Orchestra, under the direction of Jon Gudmundson. A guest singer and small combo groups will also perform. Tickets are $8 for general admission and free for USU students with presentation of ID. Tickets are available at the Caine College of the Arts Ticket Office, Chase Fine Arts Center, Room 139-B, or online. Tickets are also available at the door performance night. "The jazz program is bigger than ever this year," Fallis said. "We have had more students audition for the two jazz bands than ever before and we have added a fourth jazz combo to the program as well as a super sax combo which will perform for the combo concert later this semester." Fallis said the Oct. 13 concert features an array of jazz styles from the 1930s through today. Evening speech to inform educators The Nora Eccles Harrison Museum of Art on the Utah State University campus hosts an "Evening for Educators" session that features Brigham Young University assistant professor Daniel Barney. The activity is a part of SWAP — the State Wide Art Partnership initiative — and is open to all educators, elementary through high school, from the northern Utah and southern Idaho region. The session is presented Saturday, Oct. 9, from 9 a.m. to noon at the museum on the USU campus. Activities begin with a tour of newly installed exhibitions in the museum then move to the art education room, Fine Arts Visual 108. There, Barney will discuss how educators from all grade levels can establish visual art education as a regular part of the general curriculum in their classrooms. lCompiled from staff and media reports |