Watch A Mitral Valve Surgery Online

The University of Maryland Medical Center has posted online a webcast of mitral valve surgery.

This webcast, and the rest of the information the UM website provides offers an opportunity to learn more about mitral valve repair and mitral valve replacement. It's a resource for everyone, really, whether you are a med student -- particularly the surgery webcast -- or whether your doctor has told you are experiencing leakage or narrowing of your mitral valve and are in need of care options.

Heart surgery can certainly give one apprehension, but the University of Maryland lays it out for you, and the university is a leader in such work, where more than 90 percent of patients have their valve repaired instead of replaced -- which is reported to be well above national averages.

In addition to the webcast, and a variety of informational links, you may email your questions directly to Dr. James Gammie, a mitral valve specialist at the university heart center.

Whether you live in Maryland, a nearby state or elsewhere, this is a valuable resource.

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Researchers Develop Two-Dimensional Invisibility Cloak

Harry Potter may not have talked much about plasmonics in J. K. Rowling's fantasy series, but University of Maryland researchers are using this emerging technology to develop an invisibility cloak that exists beyond the world of bespectacled teenage wizards.

A research team at Maryland's A. James Clark School of Engineering comprised of Christopher Davis, research scientist Igor Smolyaninov, and graduate student Yu-Ju Hung, has used plasmon technology to create the world's first invisibility cloak for visible light. The engineers have applied the same technology to build a revolutionary superlens microscope that allows scientists to see details of previously undetectable nanoscale objects.

Generally speaking, when we see an object, we see the visible light that strikes the object and is reflected. The Clark School team's invisibility cloak refracts (or bends) the light that strikes it, so that the light moves around and past the cloak, reflecting nothing, leaving the cloak and its contents "invisible."

The invisibility cloak device is a two-dimensional pattern of concentric rings created in a thin, transparent acrylic plastic layer on a gold film. The plastic and gold each have different refractive properties. The structured plastic on gold in different areas of the cloak creates "negative refraction" effects, which bend plasmons—electron waves generated when light strikes a metallic surface under precise circumstances—around the cloaked region.

This manipulation causes the plasmon waves to appear to have moved in a straight line. In reality they have been guided around the cloak much as water in a stream flows around a rock, and released on the other side, concealing the cloak and the object inside from visible light. The invisibility that this phenomenon creates is not absolutely perfect because of energy loss in the gold film.

The team achieved this invisibility under very specialized conditions. The researchers' cloak is just 10 micrometers in diameter; by comparison, a human hair is between 50 to 100 micrometers wide. Also, the cloak uses a limited range of the visible spectrum, in two dimensions. It would be a significant challenge to extend the cloak to three dimensions because researchers would need to control light waves both magnetically and electronically to steer them around the hidden object. The technology initially may work only for small objects of specific controlled shape.

The team also has used plasmonics to develop superlens microscopy technology, which can be integrated into a conventional optical microscope to view nanoscale details of objects that were previously undetectable.

The superlens microscope could one day image living cells, viruses, proteins, DNA molecules, and other samples, operating much like a point-and-shoot camera. This new technology could revolutionize the capability to view nanoscale objects at a crucial stage of their development. The team believes they can improve the resolution of their microscope images down to about 10 nanometers—one ten thousandth of the width of a human hair.

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Video: Maryland County Holds Largest Flu Vaccination In U.S.

Howard County, Maryland, has undertaken what is believed to be the largest flu vaccination program in the United States. Tim Williams of WJZ-TV in Baltimore reports.

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Baltimore's Makeover Could Use More Than 'Hairspray'

I first noticed something when I saw the sleek black limosines sliding their way along Charles Street. Once on the bus, I saw what was going on -- it was the Baltimore premiere of the new remake of the cult film Hairspray.

Fans and TV crews alike had mobbed the sidewalk and as the bus drove by, we passengers saw film co-star Amanda Bynes posing in very Hollywood fashion out on the sidewalk for the photographers.

So this is what passes for glamour here in Baltimore.

You see, Baltimore is caught up in a bit of an identity crisis. This city, which once had serious personality, now lives in the shadow of this other city just an hour south on I-95. Yes, you guessed it -- our nation's capital, Washington DC.

Washington is a living city. Whatever their political stripe, Washington attracts the best and the brightest who come from across the country -- and around the world -- just to change the world, and leave their mark on it, too.

You can feel that energy everyday in Washington, as I do working there.

At night I come home to the somnambulent-by-comparison Baltimore, which is caught between the quaint past as seen in Hairspray and a future not yet made or defined.

Baltimore is just not the magnet for people and energy that Washington proves to be every day.

Certainly, Baltimore is home to the world-famous Johns Hopkins University, as well as many fine colleges and universities. Yet, they all operate as islands and never achieve the critical mass that government, non-profits and all of the other associated enterprises of Washington DC can muster.

Baltimore's in the midst of a mayoral election and the top issue on everyone's lips is the city's high crime and soaring homicide rate.

The thing is, Washington also has crime, murder and all the other urban social ills of a modern city. And yet for all of that, smart people keep coming to Washington. People in Washington have a lot more to talk about than their murder rate.

It will be up to the next mayor of Baltimore to provide the city with more of the energy that is so common and infectious on the streets just an hour south. With its universities and other assets, Baltimore has what it takes. What needs is a vision to create that critical mass its neighbor down in Washington has. What DC has is the "people's business." Baltimore needs to find some new business of its own, as unique in its own way as you'll find in government in Washington.

It's time that people in Baltimore also have more to talk about than either their crime rate or the sweet nostalgia of Hairspray.

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The Baltimore Area Apartment for You

Baltimore's the home of the Ravens, Edgar Allan Poe -- and the "Hons." Who are the hons?

The fun, friendly women with beehive hairdos who even today look like they are just a step away from the 1950s who call everyone "Hon." Watch the upcoming film Hairspray and you'll know all about it.

I should know. I live here. Baltimore's my town.

And I know Baltimore Real Estate. In the search for just the right place, you have a lot of choices. There are the many neighborhoods of the city itself, of course. And there are the rural areas north of the city.

Right out in Baltimore County, Cockeysville offers the best of both worlds -- the fun of the city, the beauty of the farms.

Briarcliff Apartments in Cockeysville, Md., offers one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments, many with dens, located just minutes north of Baltimore City. Briarcliff Apartments are managed by Gebhart Properties and their maintenance staff is present 24 hours a day to make sure your experience living at Briarcliff is hassle-free and convenient.

Gebhart Properties offers you the benefit of more than two generations of real estate know-how. Let them put it all to work for you, Hon!

Call them today at (410) 666-1340.

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Study Says Women, Managers Differ on Career Advancement in Chemical Companies

During this Women's History Month, the National Science Foundation (NSF) has released a report called It's Elemental, the results of a three-year study of women's careers in the chemical industry. The first study of its kind, the findings reveal that women and their managers have differing attitudes and perceptions about career advancement.

"While there have been some surveys of women on academic career tracks, no comprehensive work exists on women and their managers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) intensive industrial settings," says Judith Giordan, who is currently on detail from the University of Southern Mississippi as a program director for NSF's Integrative Graduate Education and Research Traineeship Program. "As industry is the largest employer of these graduates, we wanted to determine and share how women can get ahead and what could hold them back from the career success they want."

One finding reveals that managers, particularly male managers, rated the ability to relocate higher than women did as a factor for career success. Whereas women rated two items as high on their list--"blowing your own horn is a key element for success and recognition" and "…to be on highly visible projects where contributions can be recognized and rewarded"--managers rated those components as lower priorities for career advancement.

Another finding was that some women still perceive sexist discrimination, which may impact their career advancement. Women who felt positive about their work environments reported lower levels of discrimination. The results indicate that top-level managers still need to develop and enforce policies and initiatives to combat sexism in the workplace.

"It's very clear from the data that women want to advance, and they're willing to do what it takes," says Ruth Fassinger, principal investigator for the project and professor and interim chair of the Department of Counseling and Personnel Services at the University of Maryland, College Park. "Women stated they want support and opportunities to get ahead. To go along with this, both the women and managers we surveyed said that mentoring is hugely important. We are conducting a follow-up study on mentoring so that we can better understand how it can be successfully structured."

Researchers compared women with their managers in five critical areas: success and advancement; workplace support and climate; mentoring; home-work intersection; and company initiatives. Each chapter includes an analysis of the data. Key points and recommendations for managers and companies are offered at the end of each chapter.

"While women are taking on leadership roles in STEM industries, the number of women in those roles and the rate at which it is happening is disappointingly slow," says Giordan. "Opportunities for the next generation of women to thrive in industrial settings will increase as younger women coming up through the pipeline are better informed and prepared."

Career development workshops are planned for women in undergraduate, graduate and postdoctoral positions to help them prepare and learn from the findings. The report has been sent to senior managers at more than 50 companies.

The study was conducted by the University of Maryland, College Park, under a grant from NSF.

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Op-Ed: If You Haven't Heard of This Guy, You Will

His name is Martin O'Malley. A Democrat, he's been mayor of Baltimore since 1999 but tomorrow he will be sworn in as governor of Maryland. In November, O'Malley became the only Democrat to beat an incumbent Republican governor.

But he'll run for president someday. It's only a matter of time.

Actually, in a way, he already is. O'Malley's been running at least since 2005. At the time, Martin O'Malley was still a second-term mayor and hadn't even kicked off his campaign against Gov. Robert Ehrlich.

In August 2005, Martin O'Malley delivered a major speech on homeland security at the National Press Club in Washington. Like all mayors and governors who focus on domestic policy, O'Malley plainly looked at his speech as a means to demonstrate he understands and can talk tough about security and defense issues.

O'Malley clearly articulated not only what cities and states need to do better in terms of homeland security, but the federal government as well. And he very obviously used the occasion to take on President Bush and burnish not only Democrats' security qualifications, but his own.

"The way I see it, there are two ways to look at the issue of federal responsibility for our national defense at home," O'Malley said. "One view says that our homeland security should be a federal funding responsibility -- that it is the responsibility of all Americans to contribute to her defense during a time of war. The second view says homeland security should be a local funding responsibility -- that the people of a poor city or a rich suburb should do the best they can, using local taxes and the proceeds from fire hall bingo nights. Unfortunately for America's security in this time of war, the second view now controls the White House and Congress.

"This 'weak-defense' view, which sees homeland security as an unfunded local option, cannot truthfully be called 'conservative,'" O'Malley added. "President Eisenhower made a massive federal investment in building the National System of Interstate and Defense highways to better protect America in the event of a nuclear attack. Ronald Reagan was unabashed when it came to federal investments in defense. But in Washington today, the traditional strong defense values of the party of Abraham Lincoln are found only in the words carved on the cold walls of his memorial."

Martin O'Malley has a very Clintonesque quality about him. He's very smart but has a very folksy way about him and can easily tap into spirtual and religious dimensions without sounding strident. He can also, as he did in his homeland security speech, bash the opposition without coming across as too partisan, but as common sensical.

Like Bill Clinton, Martin O'Malley is cool. He's the leader of an Irish rock band called O'Malley's March. O'Malley's St. Patrick's Day concerts are the stuff of legend in Baltimore.

As a presidential candidate and as president, Martin O'Malley has the opportunity to be Clinton without the baggage. In fact, in the recent governor's race, O'Malley's opponents tried to use the womanizing smear against him in a very Clinton-like way only to have it backfire. Ehrlich was forced to fire the staffer who was peddling the rumors.

The big knock on Martin O'Malley is ambition. He's too ambitious, some people say. I'm not sure why people see ambition among public servants as a bad thing, though. When you or I are good at our job, we hope for and expect raises and promotions. It's a very positive quality in America. Why shouldn't the same hold true for good public servants.

Martin O'Malley, though, understands one can be too ambitious. That's why O'Malley sat out the 2002 governor's race. At that time, he was still a first-term mayor. He waited until he got re-elected to ponder a run for governor.

The same will be true when O'Malley runs for president.

So when will he run? O'Malley will wait to be a re-elected governor in 2010 before he looks further to the national stage. Further timing will depend on whether a Democrat wins the White House in 2008. If a Democrat becomes president in January 2009, O'Malley won't challenge the incumbent in 2012, but will wait until 2016. He's a young man and can bide his time.

If a Republican wins in 2008, however, O'Malley may stage a run against the GOP incumbent as a sitting governor in 2012.

Watch Martin O'Malley. You will be hearing more from him sooner or later.

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