More than 350 buildings on campus are connected to and controlled by a building automation system, which uses a secure computer network to centralize the remote monitoring and control of electricity, lighting, plumbing, ventilation, air conditioning and other environmental systems. Many Penn State campuses across the state, including Harrisburg, Altoona and Erie, The Behrend College, also use digital automation systems for managing building settings.
As part of Penn State’s ongoing efforts to raise awareness about sexual violence, the University is marking Sexual Assault Awareness month in April, with events slated to take place at campuses across the Commonwealth. Those events include lectures, film screenings, self-defense training, “Walk a Mile in Her Shoes” events and other educational programs.
Through the Reinvention Fund, the Sustainability Institute’s internal grant program, Penn State has invested more than $875,000 in collaborative projects intended to improve and expand sustainability efforts across the institution. Faculty/staff teams have received $773,485, and an additional $102,884 was dedicated to support proposals submitted by student teams.
Independence Day celebrations almost always include fireworks of some kind. The Prevent Blindness America organization recommends attending professionally organized fireworks displays rather than buying and setting off your own. This view is echoed by the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), which collects and reports data on fireworks-related injuries every year. They report that 7,000 emergency room visits from fireworks-related injuries occurred during 2008, including seven deaths. In 2007, there were 11 deaths and 9,800 emergency room visits from fireworks-related injury.
Disease remedies using plant products fill the market, but most have not been tested well enough to be able to assure patients that they really work or that they are safe. Here is what is known about a few products that are often of interest to patients with diabetes.
A concussion in young athletes can cause significant problems, especially if not recognized and treated properly. The risk for concussion can certainly be reduced by using the proper equipment and following the rules, but it will never be eliminated. Soccer players and lacrosse players risk collisions with opponents or striking their head on the ground after a fall. Softball and baseball catchers and umpires risk getting concussions from foul balls.
It has been 28 years since the first case reports of individuals with a newly recognized immunodeficiency disorder called AIDS were described. Soon thereafter the viral cause of AIDS, the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), was discovered. This discovery led to the development of tests that could quickly and accurately diagnose HIV infection. We then began to watch as the epidemic spread not only in the United States and other developed nations, but to a much greater extent in the developing world, particularly on the African continent where the combination of a deadly infection coupled with an often non-existent health care infrastructure resulted in untold misery and hardship, says the newest edition of The Medical Minute, a service of the Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center.
Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are neurodevelopmental disorders marked by impaired social interactions, restricted interests, repetitive behaviors, and communication impairment, which persist throughout a person's lifetime. The ASD prevalence rate--the number of individuals diagnosed with autism--has been steadily increasing over time. A new report from the U.S. Department of Health's Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), based on a phone survey of over 78,000 families, set the prevalence rate at nearly one in 91 children. This is an increase from the prior statistic of one in 150 children reported in 2007 by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says The Medical Minute, a service of the Penn State Hershey Medical Center.
