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THURSDAY November 6, 2014
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THE DAILY ILLINI 5he independent student newspaper at the University of Illinois since 1871
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Dispensaries wait for legal green light BY WALBERT CASTILLO STAFF WRITER
Editor’s Note: A source’s name has been changed to Charlie Johnson to protect his identity. When Illinois became the 20th state to legalize cannabis for medical purposes earlier this year, it was only a matter of time until medical marijuana dispensary facilities would arrive in Urbana, said Alderman Diane Marlin, Ward 7. Illinois enacted the Compassionate Use of Medical Cannabis Pilot Program Act in January 2014, allowing for the legal sale and use of medical marijuana. Four companies in Urbana are waiting to hear back after submitting their applications on Sept. 22 for medical marijuana dispensary licenses, which would allow them to sell cannabis to patients diagnosed with any of the 38 debilitating medical conditions. Libby Tyler, community development director and city planner of Urbana, said the city received applications from Green Thumb Wellness, Pfx Farms of Illinois, The
10 of 38 debilitating medical conditions for marijuana medical treatment:
• Cancer glaucoma • HIV Positive • Acquired immune deficiency syndrome • Syringomyelia • Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis • Crohn’s disease • Agitation of Alzheimer’s disease • Muscular dystrophy • Severe fibromyalgia • Parkinson’s Disease MedMen of Illinois LLC and Nu Med RX LLC. Despite marijuana legalization, Marlin said there is an underlying conflict between what the states are doing and what the federal government considers to be illegal activity. The federal government
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W. Park St.
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University Ave.
SOURCE: Urbana Community Director Libby Tyler
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N. Race St.
Locations in Urbana, IL Urbana received applications for licenses from: 1) Green Thumb Wellness LLC: 401 N. Broadway 2) The MedMen of Illinois LLC: 400 N. Broadway 3) Nu Med RX LLC: 105 E. University 4) Pfx Farms of Illinois: 202 W. University
SONNY AN THE DAILY ILLINI
Aadeel Akhtar, a graduate in Neuroscience, and Michael Fatina, a sophomore in Engineering, demonstrates the prosthetic hand in action at the Coordinated Science Laboratory on Monday, Nov. 3.
Researchers lend a hand BY JANE LEE STAFF WRITER
For amputees in developing countries the cost of prostheses can be too expensive, ranging in the tens of thousands of dollars. But a research team at the University may have found a solution to that problem with the development of a 3D-printed prosthetic hand with pattern recognition capabilities that can be made for $270. Team members visited Ecuador in August to test their prototype, and hope to return as they continue their research.
Discovering the use of 3-D printing ANNA HECHT THE DAILY ILLINI
The team, advised by Tim
Bretl, associate professor in Aerospace Engineering, came together about three years ago to study ways to examine and control the use of prosthetics. The team is collaborating with the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago. Aadeel Akhtar, team leader and PhD student in Neuroscience, said the team is researching how to control prosthetic limbs by using muscle signals. “The whole idea of using 3-D printer prosthetics came around about last year when I was talking to another group member, Mary Nguyen,” Akhtar said. “Around this time there was an explosion in using 3-D printer prosthetics; you would see
Construction of ACES lab to begin after delay BY ERIC FRIES STAFF WRITER
Construction of a new Integrated Bioprocessing Research Laboratory should be underway by the middle of the month, said Hans Blaschek, director of the new facility and assistant dean for the College of ACES. The project, funded by the state of Illinois’ Capital Development Program, will cost somewhere between $22 and $25 million, Blaschek said. The state approved the project in 2008, but as a result of the recession and approval issues concerning other legislative bodies, it had been put on hold until now. The laboratory will be con-
structed on Pennsylvania Avenue, connecting to the existing Agricultural Bioprocess Laboratory, which is around 100 years old. It is expected to be finished and operational by the summer of 2016, Blaschek said. Bioprocessing involves extracting products with a higher value from plants, said Neal Merchen, associate dean of research for the College of ACES. These products could include important chemicals, nutrients or bioactive compounds, which can then be used for pharmaceuticals or nutritional supplements. Biofuel production will also be a focus of the facility.
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a news article every day about the latest 3-D prosthetic hand.” Patrick Slade, sophomore in Engineering, has been interested in the idea of prosthetics since high school, when he built the prosthetic hand using 3-D printing in his garage. When he arrived on campus as a freshman, he emailed Akhtar asking if the team had any use for the object. Since then, the team has been researching how to make prosthetic hands with a 3-D printer.
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The current model The team’s 3-D prosthetic hand can perform five positions that correspond to the user’s hand.
0RUH RQOLQH See the hand in motion and an interview with team leader Aadeel Akhtar at DailyIllini.com.
Akhtar said with a right muscle sensor, or electromyographic sensor, on the user’s forearm, the team employs machine learning algorithms. “Using this machine learning algorithm, we have the user just train with performing the five different gestures that we can currently do: the hand at rest, the hand at opening, the hand closing, a three fi nger grasp and also a fine pinch,”
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Urbana shooter remains unidentified DAILY ILLINI STAFF REPORT
PHOTO COURTESY OF THE COLLEGE OF ACES
A computer rendering of the Integrated Bioprocessing Research Laboratory, which will be in operation by the summer of 2016 and focus on biofuel research. “Most of the research that will take place in that building will revolve around developing processes for the production of biofuels from agricultural products,” Merchen said. The facility will include a large “high bay” area where research and development will take place, as well as classrooms, office space and an analytical laboratory. “I think the really unique thing about the facility is the scale of the facility,” Merchen said.
Its scale will be larger than “the scale of a laboratory bench,” but smaller than an industrial-scale effort. “There are very few, if any, facilities that are designed to meet somewhere in between those two extremes,” Merchen said. The facility will be able to test whether scaling a laboratory-scale project up to a larger scale is feasible and provide proof of concept. The facility will also allow
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Police are still looking for a suspect in connection to the shooting of a 25-yearold man. The man was shot Tuesday on the 600 block of North Goodwin Avenue, Urbana, around 4:30 p.m. Tuesday. The victim walked into Provena Hospital and was then transported to Carle Hospital, where he underwent surgery for gunshot wounds. The full extent of his injuries are not known, but they were described as serious and he is still hospitalized, said Bryant Seraphin, criminal investigation division commander for the Urbana Police Department. The shooter has not yet been identified. Police are searching for a mid-sized white General Motors SUV.
Broken glass was found on the scene and could be indicative of windows shot out from the SUV, Seraphin said. A man with a possible connection to the shooting was seen running northbound from the area of the shooting immediately after the incident. He was described by witnesses as an African-American male in his 20s, wearing a navy Adidas sports jacket. Anyone with additional information is encouraged to call the Urbana Police Department at 217-384-2320. Callers may remain anonymous by calling Crime Stoppers at 217-373-TIPS or texting “CCTip” plus the information to CRIMES (274637).
Abigale Svoboda contributed to this report.
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