The Daily Collegian
Health care clinic open
By Anita Modi
COLLEGIAN STAFF WRITER
Opened last Thursday, the
walk-in clinic Nittany Urgent
Care has seen more than 10
patients, and physician Dr. Paul
Kattupalli anticipates activity to
increase.
The 2615 E. College Ave. facility
features six examination rooms,
an x-ray room, a conference room
and a laboratory used for basic
blood-glucose tests, urinalyses
and pregnancy tests.
A small storage room serves as
a makeshift pharmacy, with two
wood closets housing prescrip
tion medication offered to
patients on-site. The waiting
room just inside is slowly being
filled with toys, books and maga
zines.
Nittany Urgent Care, catering
to patients of all ages, is open
from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. during the
workweek, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. on
Saturday and 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. on
Sunday.
The clinic’s staff currently
comprised of two physicians, a
nurse and an x-ray technician
Nittany Urgent Care, 2615 E. College Ave., opened its doors to patients last Thursday.
Professor advances
Leslie Parent discovered
a new step in the replica
tion of the AIDS virus.
By Micah Wintner
FOR THE COLLEGIAN
A team of Penn State College of
Medicine researchers has discov
ered a new step in the replication
process of a
retrovirus a
development that
has the potential
to shed light on
how HIV repli
cates itself.
Infectious dis
eases professor
Leslie Parent led Parent
the research
team in their new discovery.
Discovering a new step in the
replication process is important
because a drug cannot be devel
oped to combat HIV until its path
route through the cell is under
stood, Parent said.
The study was done on the
retrovirus Rous sarcoma, which
affects chickens, Parent said. The
Boat pilot could face charges
By Maryclaire Dale
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
PHILADELPHIA A lawyer
for the pilot of the tug pushing a
barge that sank a duck boat in
Philadelphia fears his client could
face federal felony charges over
the deadly crash.
“The reason he hasn’t said any
thing up to this point is, you’re
always concerned about criminal
charges,” lawyer Frank
DeSimone said.
“I have to err on the side of cau
tion.”
Two Hungarian students, ages
16 and 20, died in the July 7 crash,
which plunged 35 passengers and
two crew members aboard the
stalled duck boat into the swift
Delaware River.
“I feel terrible, and my client
feels terrible, about the two peo
ple who died,” DeSimone said
Monday.
He said he hopes to have his
are trained and equipped to treat
cases from infectious diseases to
gastrointestinal maladies, bone
fractures and psychiatric disor
ders.
Not only will patients find the
clinic’s hours and wide range of
services convenient, but they will
appreciate some financial aspects
of Nittany Medical Care, as well,
Lori Facer, the clinic's nurse,
said.
“We accept medical assistance
here,” Facer said, “And that’s
something that most other doc
tors in this area have been turn
ing down lately.”
Students are particularly
encouraged to take advantage of
the clinic’s promotional physical
exam package, offered for $25.
Kattupalli said discounted vacci
nations, sports injuries treatment
and drug screening tests, as well
as hearing and vision tests for dri
ver’s license examinations were
also developed with Penn Staters
in mind.
Locals and students alike may
benefit from a few innovative pro
grams specific to the Nittany
Urgent Care clinic, including a
retroviruses, like Hiy could use a
pathway similar to Rous sarcoma
to replicate themselves, she said.
This replication process begins
with the production by messen
ger RNA of a protein called Gag.
The research team discovered
that once the virus starts to repli
cate itself, there is a step where
Gag protein enters the nucleus of
a cell and binds itself to the viral
RNA there, Parent said.
The Gag protein then binds to
an “export factor" which allows it
to leave the nucleus, she said.
Despite this discovery, Parent
says more research needs to be
done on the subject.
“This is still a kind of basic sci
ence question that has potential
to lead to something,” Parent
said.
Rous sarcoma and HIV do not
behave in exactly the same way,
so to say a cure can now be found
for HIV would be an overstate
ment, Parent said.
The research team’s study is
based on a 2002 experiment
where a drug was applied to
a cell with the virus that
allowed Gag protein to be seen
client speak with investigators
someday about the deadly July 7
crash but has so far advised him
to remain silent.
DeSimone is especially con
cerned about the relatively low
threshold for involuntary
manslaughter under the federal
law.
The federal statute requires
only simple negligence, com
pared with the extreme negli
gence required under state law
for that charge, he said.
The tug pilot, a mate, has not
been identified either by authori
ties or DeSimone. The mate was
piloting the tug while the captain
was on break, the Coast Guard
has said.
In radio communications
released Friday, the tug is heard
telling the Coast Guard: “We are
the ones that, I guess, capsized
the duck boat.
We’re on scene, but we do have
a barge alongside so there’s not
LOCAL & STATE
weight reduction program com
bining medication with nutrition
al planning, as well as individual
counseling about the long-term
effects of smoking and sexually
transmitted infections.
Kattupalli, trained in psychia
try and family medicine, said
counseling is offered to every
patient, regardless of their case,
to ensure they understand their
conditions.
“We give specific, comprehen
sive education for all infections
and diseases,” Kattupalli said.
“We don’t just treat our patients
and tell them to go home.”
He said he often refers his
patients to his personal website,
drpaul.org, for access to more
than 200 lectures he has given at
universities in Florida and
Pennsylvania about common ail
ments.
Nittany Medical Care also
hopes to provide State College
with further opportunities for
both education and treatment by
hosting free clinics downtown in
the future, Kattupalli said.
To e-mail reporter: arms373@psu.edu
research
in the nucleus, Parent said.
Parent called this the “eureka
moment” that prompted the
research team to investigate how
Gag enters the nucleus.
Eight years later, the mecha
nisms of the Gag protein’s path
way to the nucleus are now
understood, Parent said.
But the Penn State community
is fortunate enough to see little of
the HIV epidemic, said Suzanne
Zeman, who oversees the HIV
testing program for the Health
Promotion and Wellness
Department.
“There is not a high incident
rate of HIV at all here,” she said.
“In general, the rate is extremely
low.”
Despite a low HIV incident
rate, University Health Services
provides students with free, confi
dential HIV testing by appoint
ment, which is funded by the
Pennsylvania Department of
Health, Zeman said.
Testing is also provided down
town by The AIDS Project, 141 W
Beaver Ave., and Planned
Parenthood, 137 S. Pugh St.,
Zeman said.
too, too much we can do.”
The National Transportation
and Safety Board is preparing a
preliminary report based on
interviews, post-crash tests of the
vessels and other evidence. The
report is not likely to be complet
ed before Labor Day, and a final
report could take another year,
NTSB spokesman Ted
Lopatkiewicz said Monday.
On Monday, officials in New
Jersey released a recording of a
911 call reporting the collision
from that side of the Delaware
River.
“A barge just ran over one of
the duck boats on the Delaware
River. There are people in the
water,” the caller told a police dis
patcher.
The dispatcher put him on hold
for more than 40 seconds. He then
tried unsuccessfully to transfer
the call to Philadelphia police,
before giving the caller that num
ber to call.
The Premiere Theater, 125 Premiere Dr., will undergo renovations
Local theater to
see renovations
Premiere Theatre 12, 125
Premiere Drive, could be com
pletely made over by the 2010
Thanksgiving holiday season.
General Manager of Theatre
Operations Steve Ross said reno
vations on the theater will hope
fully start by the end of August or
beginning of September, adding
he is “hoping to be done for the
holiday movie schedule, by Nov.
1.”
The renovations include
expanding the lobby by installing
new tiles and carpet, moving the
box office location and adding an
all-new concession stand, Ross
said. Changing the box office’s
location will alleviate some of the
traffic that occurs when the the
ater is busy, he said.
“You’re not going to have lines
like you are used to seeing in
movie theaters,” Ross said.
State College Township Zoning
Officer John Franek Jr. agrees
with Ross.
M. Antonio Silas
“The biggest improvement is a
bigger indoor waiting area for
movie-goers,” Franek Jr. said.
He added that the renovations
to the inside lobby will “help with
people waiting in line. People
won’t have to wait outside in the
weather.”
Alex Quercetti (senior-archi
tectural engineering) said the
Premiere 12 gets crowded often.
“It gets backed up,” he said.
Quercetti and his friend Sarah
Wujcik said they are regular
moviegoers at the Premiere 12.
When it’s really busy, Quercetti
said, people will walk right past
the box office and go into the the
ater without paying.
OPP expects delays
along Park Avenue
Construction to resur
face Park Avenue will
create traffic congestion
for local motorists.
State College motorists should
expect delays on Park Avenue
with construction already under
way to resurface the road.
The project also includes the
construction of curb ramps along
the roadway, with the construc
tion area extending from
Atherton Street to Orchard Road,
Pennsylvania Department Of
Transportation (PennDOT) press
officer Marla Fannin said.
“Park Avenue is a major access
road to the stadiums and the uni
versity,” Office of Physical Plant
(OPP) spokesman Paul Ruskin
said. “It needs to be brought up to
top condition.”
Motorists should expect traffic
delays between the hours of 5
p.m. and 7 a.m. during construc
tion. The road will also be
restricted to one-way traffic dur
ing construction, and- drivers
should watch for roadway flag
gers directing traffic, Fannin said.
Traffic on Park Avenue may
By Karina Yiicel
FOR THE COLLEGIAN
The new concession stands will
By Zach Geiger
COLLEGIAN STAFF WRITER
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be state of the art with all new
menus, food options and a bever
age station where customers will
be able to get their own drinks,
Ross said.
Chefs will sell all different
types of food including pizza, fun
nel cakes, fries, White Castle
burgers and flat sandwiches, he
added.
Scardy Maceus (senior-educa
tion) said the planned renova
tions sound interesting. White
Castle does not have any fran
chises in or around State College,
and Maceus said he likes the idea
of State College adding the
restaurant.
To keep up with the recent 3D
trend in movies, the theatre will
add another projector with 3D
capability. In addition, up to 10 out
of the 12 auditoriums will get all
new leather rocking chairs to
replace the old seating, Ross
said.
“We don’t want to lose the the
ater but we’ll see how it goes,”
Ross said. He added the corpora
tion had a similar project in a
Tennessee location that went
well, and they were able to keep
the theater open throughout the
renovation.
“I would want to check out
what was different,” Maceus said.
Wujcik (senior-architectural
engineering) said it is easier to
get to Premiere 12 by bus than
other theaters in the area, and if
they renovate the lobby students
might be able to sit inside while
waiting for the bus to come back
to campus.
Quercetti said he doesn’t think
the theater needs renovations,
but that they can only make the
establishment better.
“It’s the best theatre in the
area,” he said.
also be stopped entirely during
the construction process depend
ing on the situation, Fannin said.
PennDOT crews will be working
during the night in order to allevi
ate traffic congestion on the road
during the day, she said.
“You get fewer impacts at
nighttime compared to daytime,”
Fannin said.
But residents of the College
Heights neighborhood and
motorists trying to access cam
pus after 5 p.m. will notice the dis
turbance, Ruskin said.
Noise from the construction on
Park Avenue in addition to
safety lighting in place at the con
struction site may cause a dis
ruption during the night, Ruskin
said.
About 20 different roads in
Centre and Clinton Counties are
being resurfaced as part of a $3.7
million group project, Fannin
said.
Construction on Park Avenue
began July 21. The estimated
completion time for the group
project is mid-October, according
to a PennDOT press release.
The contractor for the project,
HRI, was unavailable for com
ment by press time Sunday.
To e-mail reporter: zjgsol2@psu.edu