astaektagadar: মার্চ 2013

রবিবার, ৩১ মার্চ, ২০১৩

Artificial spleen to treat bloodstream infections: Sepsis therapeutic device under development

Mar. 30, 2013 ? The Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University announced today that it was awarded a $9.25 million contract from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to further advance a blood-cleansing technology developed at the Institute with prior DARPA support, and help accelerate its translation to humans as a new type of sepsis therapy.

The device will be used to treat bloodstream infections that are the leading cause of death in critically ill patients and soldiers injured in combat.

To rapidly cleanse the blood of pathogens, the patient's blood is mixed with magnetic nanobeads coated with a genetically engineered version of a human blood 'opsonin' protein that binds to a wide variety of bacteria, fungi, viruses, parasites, and toxins. It is then flowed through microchannels in the device where magnetic forces pull out the bead-bound pathogens without removing human blood cells, proteins, fluids, or electrolytes -- much like a human spleen does. The cleansed blood then flows back to the patient.

"In just a few years we have been able to develop a suite of new technologies, and to integrate them to create a powerful new device that could potentially transform the way we treat sepsis," said Wyss founding director and project leader, Don Ingber, M.D., Ph.D. "The continued support from DARPA enables us to advance our device manufacturing capabilities and to obtain validation in large animal models, which is precisely what is required to enable this technology to be moved towards testing in humans."

The team will work to develop manufacturing and integration strategies for its core pathogen-binding opsonin and Spleen-on-a-Chip fluidic separation technologies, as well as a novel coating technology called "SLIPS," which is a super-hydrophobic coating inspired from the slippery surface of a pitcher plant that repels nearly any material it contacts. By coating the inner surface of the channels of the device with SLIPS, blood cleansing can be carried out without the need for anticoagulants to prevent blood clotting.

In addition to Ingber, the multidisciplinary team behind this effort includes Wyss core faculty and Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Science faculty member Joanna Aizenberg, Ph.D., who developed the SLIPS technology; Wyss senior staff member Michael Super, Ph.D., who engineered the human opsonin protein; and Mark Puder, M.D., Ph.D., Associate Professor of Pediatric Surgery at Boston Children's Hospital and Harvard Medical School who will be assisting with animal studies.

Share this story on Facebook, Twitter, and Google:

Other social bookmarking and sharing tools:

Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Wyss Institute.

Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/top_health/~3/O8CKu3xNkz0/130330130531.htm

elvis presley elvis presley Pretty Little Liars Rob Parker Comcast Pokemon X and Y Rob Ryan

Crosby hit in mouth by puck, will not return

PITTSBURGH (AP) ? Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby lost several teeth and needed oral surgery after he was hit in the mouth with a puck during a 2-0 victory against the New York Islanders on Saturday.

Coach Dan Bylsma wasn't sure if the injury affected Crosby's jaw and didn't know if he would miss any more time. The Penguins, who have won a league-high 15 straight games, host Buffalo on Tuesday.

"I just know he had some issues with his teeth," Bylsma said. "Just from the replay I know that."

Bylsma saw enough to become concerned about the health of the team's biggest star, particularly because of his well-documented history battling concussion problems.

Crosby missed considerable time the past two years because of concussions. He was sidelined for the final 41 games in 2011 and the Stanley Cup playoffs, in addition to skipping most of the 2012 regular season as symptoms lingered.

"I think every time that type of thing happens to a player you think about it," Bylsma said.

Crosby has enjoyed a resurgence this season, leading the league with 41 assists and 56 points. He holds a 10-point lead over Steven Stamkos in the NHL scoring race.

Saturday's injury could hinder Crosby's march to the scoring title.

A bloodied Crosby, who did not return to the game, skated off the ice with a towel covering his mouth after Brooks Orpik's slap shot from the point deflected off a stick and hit the Canadian center just 1:28 into the game.

"When you see the replay, he had no chance to move," said newly acquired star forward Jarome Iginla, who made his Penguins debut after a blockbuster trade early Thursday morning with the Calgary Flames.

"He didn't see it hit him. It's a very, very unfortunate play."

Crosby immediately fell to the ice and tossed his stick in the air. He then went to the hospital for surgery.

"It's very tough to see that happen to anybody on the ice, but this is your teammate, and Sid's such a great player and a big part of this team," Iginla said.

"He's a tough guy and a competitor. Guys were definitely checking to see how he was doing."

Pittsburgh still managed to go on to its 15th straight win, moving within two of the NHL record set by Mario Lemieux and the 1992-93 Penguins.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/crosby-hit-mouth-puck-not-return-182606229--nhl.html

peyton manning super bowl nsx chad ochocinco roman numerals madonna madonna superbowl halftime

Amazon acquires literary social media website Goodreads

Some Goodreads users are excited about the prospect of linking their Amazon devices to their Goodreads accounts while others feel betrayed by the decision.

By Molly Driscoll,?Staff Writer / March 29, 2013

The acquisition of Goodreads by book-buying giant Amazon is expected to close by July.

Enlarge

In a move that has angered some in the book world, Amazon has bought popular social media book website Goodreads.

Skip to next paragraph

Head-on collisions between DNA-code reading machineries accelerate gene evolution

Mar. 28, 2013 ? Bacteria appear to speed up their evolution by positioning specific genes along the route of expected traffic jams in DNA encoding. Certain genes are in prime collision paths for the moving molecular machineries that read the DNA code, as University of Washington scientists explain in this week's edition of Nature.

The spatial-organization tactics their model organism, Bacillus subtilis, takes to evolve and adapt might be imitated in other related Gram-positive bacteria, including harmful, ever-changing germs like staph, strep, and listeria, to strengthen their virulence or cause persistent infections. The researchers think that these mechanisms for accelerating evolution may be found in other living creatures as well.

Replication -- the duplicating of the genetic code to create a new set of genes- and transcription -- the copying of DNA code to produce a protein -- are not separated by time or space in bacteria. Therefore, clashes between these machineries are inevitable. Replication traveling rapidly along a DNA strand can be stalled by a head-on encounter or same-direction brush with slower-moving transcription.

The senior authors of the study, Houra Merrikh, UW assistant professor of microbiology, and Evgeni Sokurenko, UW professor of microbiology, and their research teams are collaborating to understand the evolutionary consequences of these conflicts. The major focus of Merrikh and her research team is on understanding mechanistic and physiological aspects of conflicts in living cells -- including why and how these collisions lead to mutations.

Impediments to replication, they noted, can cause instability within the genome, such as chromosome deletions or rearrangements, or incomplete separation of genetic material during cell division. When dangerous collisions take place, bacteria sometimes employ methods to repair, and then restart, the paused DNA replication, Merrikh discovered in her earlier work at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

To avoid unwanted encounters, bacteria orient most of their genes along what is called the leading strand of DNA, rather than the lagging. The terms refer to the direction the encoding activities travel on different forks of the unwinding DNA. Head-on collisions between replication and transcription happen on the lagging strand.

Despite the heightened risk of gene-altering clashes, the study bacteria B. subtilis still orients 25 percent of all its genes, and 6 percent of its essential genes, on the lagging strand.

The scientist observed that genes under the greatest natural selection pressure for amino-acid mutations, a sign of their adaptive significance, were on the lagging strand. Amino acids are the building blocks for proteins. Based on their analysis of mutations on the leading and the lagging strands, the researchers found that the rate of accumulation of mutations was faster in the genes oriented to be subject to head-on replication-transcription conflicts, in contrast to co-directional conflicts.

According to the researchers, together the mutational analyses of the genomes and the experimental findings indicate that head-on conflicts were more likely than same-direction conflicts to cause mutations. They also found that longer genes provided more opportunities for replication-transcription conflicts to occur. Lengthy genes were more prone to mutate.

The researchers noted that head-on replication-transcription encounters, and the subsequent mutations, could significantly increase structural variations in the proteins coded by the affected genes. Some of these chance variations might give the bacteria new options for adapting to changes or stresses in their environment. Like savvy investors, the bacteria appear to protect most of their genetic assets, but offer a few up to the high-roll stakes of mutation.

The researchers pointed out, "A simple switch in gene orientation ?could facilitate evolution in specific genes in a targeted way. Investigating the main targets of conflict-mediated formation of mutations is likely to show far-reaching insights into adaptation and evolution of organisms."

Share this story on Facebook, Twitter, and Google:

Other social bookmarking and sharing tools:

Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by University of Washington, via EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS.

Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.

Journal Reference:

Sandip Paul, Samuel Million-Weaver, Sujay Chattopadhyay, Evgeni Sokurenko, Houra Merrikh. Accelerated gene evolution through replication?transcription conflicts. Nature, 2013; 495 (7442): 512 DOI: 10.1038/nature11989

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/~3/S-XGYhm7TK4/130329125307.htm

elton john janelle monae MBTA national signing day Solomon Islands Mary Leakey Side Effects

শনিবার, ৩০ মার্চ, ২০১৩

Softbank and Sprint say no to Huawei in hopes of getting merger back on track

In an effort to speed up an already contested $20.1 billion merger, Softbank and Sprint have reportedly agreed not to use Huawei network equipment within the US carrier's existing network. In fact, the Chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, Mike Rogers, recently told The New York Times that the two outfits have pledged to remove Huawei hardware from Clearwire's network, too. These promises are likely a reaction to Congress' security concerns, which saw Huawei exiled from America's first responder network back in October. While Rogers is happy with Softbank and Sprint's new game plan, this deal is far from done. The two firms still need to make it past the Committee on Foreign Investment in the US, which reviews national security risks connected to business transactions. Until then, Dan Hesse may wanna hold off on any extracurricular activities.

Filed under: Wireless, Networking, Mobile, Sprint

Comments

Via: The Register

Source: The New York Times

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/03/29/softbank-sprint-agree-to-exclude-huawei/

micah true kansas vs ohio state winning mega million numbers bruce weber boston globe google maps 8 bit mirror mirror

'Waste heat' may economize CO2 capture

Mar. 28, 2013 ? In some of the first results from a federally funded initiative to find new ways of capturing carbon dioxide (CO₂) from coal-fired power plants, Rice University scientists have found that CO₂ can be removed more economically using "waste" heat -- low-grade steam that cannot be used to produce electricity. The find is significant because capturing CO₂ with conventional technology is an energy-intensive process that can consume as much as one-quarter of the high-pressure steam that plants use to produce electricity.

"This is just the first step in our effort to better engineer a process for capturing CO₂ from flue gas at power plants," said George Hirasaki, the lead researcher of Rice's CO₂-capture research team. The researchers hope to reduce the costs of CO₂ capture by creating an integrated reaction column that uses waste heat, engineered materials and optimized components. Hirasaki's team was one of 16 chosen by the Department of Energy (DOE) in 2011 to develop innovative techniques for reducing greenhouse gas emissions from power plants.

The team's first findings appear in two new studies that are available online this month in the International Journal of Greenhouse Gas Control.

Power plants fired by coal and natural gas account for about half of the CO₂ that humans add to the atmosphere each year; these power plants are prime candidates for new technology that captures CO₂ before it goes up in smoke. Each of these plants makes electricity by boiling water to create steam to run electric turbines. But not all steam is equal. Some steam has insufficient energy to run a turbine. This is often referred to as "waste" heat, although the term is something of misnomer because low-grade steam is often put to various uses around a plant. Rice's new study found that in cases where waste is available, it may be used to capture CO₂.

Hirasaki, Rice's A.J. Hartsook Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, said employing waste heat is just one example of a number of ways that Rice's team is looking to improve upon a tried-and-true technology for CO₂ capture. That technology -- a two-phase chemical process -- has been used for decades to remove naturally occurring CO₂ from natural gas.

In the first phase of the process, gas is piped upward through a vertical column while an ammonia-like liquid called amine flows down through the column. The liquid amine captures CO₂ and drains away while the purified natural gas bubbles out the top of the column. In the second phase of the process, the CO₂-laden amine is recycled with heat, which drives off the CO₂.

"The CO₂ that comes out of the ground with natural gas is under high pressure, while the CO₂ at power plants is not," Hirasaki said. "There's also a greater volume of CO₂ per unit mass at a power plant than at a natural gas well. For these reasons and others, the amine process must be re-engineered if it is to be cost-effective for CO₂ capture at power plants."

A major challenge in adapting two-phase amine processing for power plants is the amount of heat required to recycle the amine in the second phase of the process. Using existing amine processing technology at power plants is impractical, because amine recycling would require as much as one-quarter of the high-pressure steam that could otherwise be used to drive turbines and make electricity, Hirasaki said. This phenomenon is known as "parasitic" power loss, and it will drive up the cost of electricity by lowering the amount of electricity a plant can produce for sale.

"It has been estimated that the use of current technology for CO₂ capture would drive up the cost of electricity by 70 to 100 percent," said Rice graduate student Sumedh Warudkar, a co-investigator on the Rice University team. "In our study, we examined whether it would be possible to improve on that by using lower-value steam to run the amine recyclers."

To test this idea, Warudkar used a software package that's commonly used to model industrial chemical processes. One variable he tested was tailoring the chemical formulation of the liquid amine solution. Other variables included the type of steam used, and the size and pressure of the reactor -- the chamber where the flue gas flows past the amine solution.

"There's a great deal of optimization that needs to take place," Warudkar said. "The question is, What is the optimal amine formula and the optimal reactor design and pressure for removing CO₂ with low-value steam? There isn't one correct answer. For example, we have developed a process in which the gas absorption and solvent heating occurs in a single vessel instead of two separate ones, as is currently practiced. We think combining the processes might bring us some savings. But there are always trade-offs. The Department of Energy wants us to investigate how our process compares with what's already on the market, and these first two studies are the first step because they will help us identify an optimal set of operating conditions for our process."

The results are encouraging. The research suggests that two elements of Rice's design -- optimized amine formulation and the use of waste heat -- can reduce parasitic power loss from about 35 percent to around 25 percent.

Additional research is under way to develop and test novel materials and a single integrated column that the team hopes can further economize CO₂ capture by increasing efficiency and reducing parasitic power loss.

Study co-authors include Michael Wong, professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering and of chemistry, and Ken Cox, professor in the practice of chemical and biomolecular engineering. The research is supported by the Department of Energy's National Energy Technology Laboratory.

Share this story on Facebook, Twitter, and Google:

Other social bookmarking and sharing tools:

Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Rice University. The original article was written by Jade Boyd.

Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.

Journal References:

Sumedh S. Warudkar, Kenneth R. Cox, Michael S. Wong, George J. Hirasaki. Influence of stripper operating parameters on the performance of amine absorption systems for post-combustion carbon capture: Part I. High pressure strippers. International Journal of Greenhouse Gas Control, 2013; DOI: 10.1016/j.ijggc.2013.01.050
Sumedh S. Warudkar, Kenneth R. Cox, Michael S. Wong, George J. Hirasaki. Influence of stripper operating parameters on the performance of amine absorption systems for post-combustion carbon capture: Part II. Vacuum strippers. International Journal of Greenhouse Gas Control, 2013; DOI: 10.1016/j.ijggc.2013.01.049

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/matter_energy/electricity/~3/6tZEhtWnOxQ/130329090631.htm

whitney houston autopsy results obama trayvon jim yong kim michael bush the host trailer whitney houston cause of death marquette

Rush Limbaugh: Gay Marriage is Inevitable

Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2013/03/rush-limbaugh-gay-marriage-is-inevitable/

peyton hillis fletcher cox charlotte bobcats new york rangers nfl mock draft 2012 norfolk island michael brockers

Vilanova to run 1st Barca practice since return

By JOSEPH WILSON

Associated Press

Associated Press Sports

updated 4:25 p.m. ET March 29, 2013

BARCELONA, Spain (AP) - Barcelona manager Tito Vilanova led his first team practice on Friday since returning from a 10-week medical stay in New York to treat a throat tumor.

Barcelona assistant coach Jordi Roura said that Vilanova would direct the session but that he would not accompany the team to Saturday's Spanish league match at Celta Vigo. Roura says that the club hopes Vilanova can travel with the team to Paris for Tuesday's first-leg Champions League quarterfinal against Paris Saint-Germain.

In Vilanova's absence, the team suffered a pair of painful defeats to archrival Real Madrid, but also pulled off a historic 4-0 win to come back against AC Milan in the Champions League. Roura insisted throughout that he was carrying out Vilanova's orders.

Barcelona leads the Spanish league by 13 points with 10 games to go.

More newsSteve Dykes / Getty Images

Must-win matches? Maybe

PST: It may be a little early for "must-win" matches. But four MLS clubs could really use wins this weekend, starting with the Red Bulls (3:30 p.m. ET; NBCSN).

Beckham relishing chance to play against Barcelona

??PARIS (AP) - David Beckham says he feels fit enough to start the biggest game in Paris Saint-Germain's recent history when the club takes on Barcelona in the first leg of their Champions League quarterfinal on Tuesday.

Source: http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/51374722/ns/sports-soccer/

the time machine michelin tires michelin tires rett syndrome where the wild things are birdsong teresa giudice

Feds bypass the state on Title X funds (Offthekuff)

Share With Friends:

| Politics - Top Stories Stories, RSS and RSS Feed via Feedzilla.

Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/295395466?client_source=feed&format=rss

christina hendricks lifelock camp david hawaii weather the jerk lake havasu halo 4

Large robotic jellyfish could one day patrol oceans

Mar. 28, 2013 ? Virginia Tech College of Engineering researchers have unveiled a life-like, autonomous robotic jellyfish the size and weight of a grown man, 5 foot 7 inches in length and weighing 170 pounds.

The prototype robot, nicknamed Cyro, is a larger model of a robotic jellyfish the same team -- headed by Shashank Priya of Blacksburg, Va., and professor of mechanical engineering at Virginia Tech -- unveiled in 2012. The earlier robot, dubbed RoboJelly, is roughly the size of a man's hand, and typical of jellyfish found along beaches.

"A larger vehicle will allow for more payload, longer duration and longer range of operation," said Alex Villanueva of St-Jacques, New-Brunswick, Canada, and a doctoral student in mechanical engineering working under Priya. "Biological and engineering results show that larger vehicles have a lower cost of transport, which is a metric used to determine how much energy is spent for traveling."

Both robots are part of a multi-university, nationwide $5 million project funded by U.S. Naval Undersea Warfare Center and the Office of Naval Research. The goal is to place self-powering, autonomous machines in waters for the purposes of surveillance and monitoring the environment, in addition to other uses such as studying aquatic life, mapping ocean floors, and monitoring ocean currents.

Jellyfish are attractive candidates to mimic because of their ability to consume little energy owing to a lower metabolic rate than other marine species. Additionally, they appear in wide variety of sizes, shapes and colors, allowing for several designs. They also inhabit every major oceanic area of the world and are capable of withstanding a wide range of temperatures in both fresh and salt waters. Most species are found in shallow coastal waters, but some have been found in depths 7,000 meters below sea level.

Partner universities in the project are Providence College in Rhode Island, the University of California Los Angeles, the University of Texas at Dallas, and Stanford University. Priya's team is building the jellyfish body models, integrating fluid mechanics and developing control systems.

Cyro is modeled and named after the jellyfish cyanea capillata, Latin for Llion's Manemain jellyfishJellyfish, with "Cyro" derived from "cyanea" and "robot." As with its predecessor, this robot is in the prototype stage, years away from use in waters. A new prototype model already is under construction at Virginia Tech's Durham Hall, where Priya's Center for Energy Harvesting Materials and Systems is based.

"We hope to improve on this robot and reduce power consumption and improve swimming performance as well as better mimic the morphology of the natural jellyfish," Villanueva said, adding that the project also allows researchers such as himself to better understand aquatic creatures live. "Our hopes for Cyro's future is that it will help understand how the propulsion mechanism of such animal scales with size."

A stark difference exists between the larger and smaller robots. Cyro is powered by a rechargeable nickel metal hydride battery, whereas the smaller models were tethered, Priya said. Experiments have also been conducted on powering jellyfish with hydrogen but there is still much research to be done in that area.

In both cases, the jellyfish must operate on their own for months or longer at a time as engineers likely won't be able to capture and repair the robots, or replace power sources. "Cyro showed its ability to swim autonomously while maintaining a similar physical appearance and kinematics as the natural species," Priya said, adding that the robot is simultaneously able to collect, store, analyze, and communicate sensory data. This autonomous operation in shallow water conditions is already a big step towards demonstrating the use of these creatures."

How does the robot swim? Its body consists of a rigid support structure with direct current electric motors which control the mechanical arms that are used in conjunction with an artificial mesoglea, or jelly-based pulp of the fish's body, creating hydrodynamic movement.

With no central nervous system, jellyfish instead use a diffused nerve net to control movement and can complete complex functions. A parallel study on a bio-inspired control system is in progress which will eventually replace the current simplified controller. As with the smaller models, Cyro's skin is composed of a thick layer of silicone, squishy in one's hand. It mimics the sleek jellyfish skin and is placed over a bowl-shaped device containing the electronic guts of the robot. When moving, the skin floats and moves with the robot, looking weirdly alive.

"It has been a great experience to finally realize the biomimetic and bio-inspired robotic vehicles," Priya said. "Nature has too many secrets and we were able to find some of them but many still remain. We hope to find a mechanism to continue on this journey and resolve the remaining puzzles."

Share this story on Facebook, Twitter, and Google:

Other social bookmarking and sharing tools:

Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Virginia Tech (Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University), via Newswise.

Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/matter_energy/electricity/~3/kLqBg1DBw1g/130328124807.htm

jk rowling new book between two ferns statins chardon sean young juan pablo montoya free pancakes at ihop

শুক্রবার, ২৯ মার্চ, ২০১৩

Many doctors do not provide tobacco cessation assistance to lung cancer patients

Public release date: 28-Mar-2013
[ | E-mail |

Share ]

Contact: Kristal Griffith
Kristal.Griffith@iaslc.org
720-325-2952
International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer

Survey results from IASLC Tobacco Control and Smoking Cessation Committee

DENVER Physicians who care for lung cancer patients recognize the importance of tobacco cessation, but often do not provide cessation assistance to their patients according to a recent study published in the Journal of Thoracic Oncology (JTO).

An online survey was conducted in 2012 by the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer's (IASLC) Tobacco Control and Smoking Cessation Committee. The survey asked IASLC members about their practices, perceptions and barriers to tobacco assessment and cessation in cancer patients. More than 1,500 IASLC members responded and more than 90 percent of the physician respondents believe that active current smoking affects treatment outcomes and that tobacco cessation should be a standard part of clinical care. However, only 39 percent of respondents said they routinely provided smoking cessation assistance. In addition, the study found that physicians believed that patients would be resistant to tobacco cessation treatment and many do not feel adequately prepared to deliver effective tobacco cessation support to their cancer patients.

"This is the largest assessment of tobacco assessment, cessation, and perceptions of tobacco use by physicians who treat cancer patients," says Dr. Graham Warren, vice chair for research in Radiation Oncology at the Medical University of South Carolina and lead author on the study. "Tobacco use affects outcomes for virtually all cancer patients by increasing mortality, treatment complications, and other adverse health outcomes such as heart disease. Stopping tobacco use may be the most important activity a cancer patient can do to improve their chances of successful cancer treatment. As clinicians and researchers, we must work to improve access to tobacco cessation resources and improve effective methods of tobacco cessation for cancer patients."

The study represents a large collaborative effort led by Warren and several investigators at IASLC, Roswell Park Cancer Institute, the Medical University of South Carolina, Yale University and MD Anderson Cancer Center. "The fact that several institutions worked together to assess physician practice is a very positive step," says Dr. Ellen R. Gritz, chair of the department of Behavioral Science at MD Anderson Cancer Center and member of the Institute of Medicine, who was a co-author on the study. "Hopefully, we can continue to make progress by bringing experts in diverse fields together and increase our ability to address adverse health behaviors, such as tobacco use, in cancer patients."

"The IASLC has significantly advanced our understanding of clinician behavior regarding tobacco use by cancer patients," says Dr. Alex Adjei, senior vice president for clinical research at Roswell Park Cancer Institute and Editor in Chief of JTO.

"Clearly there is a need to increase tobacco cessation assistance for cancer patients," says Dr. Carolyn Dresler, member of the IASLC Board of Directors and the Tobacco Control and Smoking Cessation Committee. "This study really helps us better understand the barriers to implementing tobacco cessation and gives us a target to improve cessation support."

###

The lead author of this work is IASLC Member Dr. Graham Warren. Co-authors include IASLC members Michael Cummings, Benjamin Toll, Dr. Ellen Gritz, Dr. Roy Herbst, Dr. Carolyn Dresler on behalf of the IASLC Tobacco Control and Smoking Cessation Committee.

About the IASLC:

The International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer (IASLC) is the only global organization dedicated to the study of lung cancer. Founded in 1974, the association's membership includes more than 3,500 lung cancer specialists in 80 countries. To learn more about IASLC please visit http://www.iaslc.org.

[ | E-mail |

Share ]

AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

Many doctors do not provide tobacco cessation assistance to lung cancer patients

Public release date: 28-Mar-2013
[ | E-mail |

Share ]

Contact: Kristal Griffith
Kristal.Griffith@iaslc.org
720-325-2952
International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer

Survey results from IASLC Tobacco Control and Smoking Cessation Committee

###

About the IASLC:

[ | E-mail |

Share ]

AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-03/iaft-mdd032813.php

jennie garth space needle nashville predators king arthur king arthur there will be blood there will be blood

Ecobank says 2012 profit rose to highest ever of $348 mln

LAGOS (Reuters) - Pan-African lender Ecobank Transnational (ETI) said on Wednesday its full-year pretax profit rose 25 percent in 2012 to its highest ever of $348 million, compared with $277 million the previous year.

ETI, which has operations in 32 African countries, said in the results announcement that gross earnings jumped 46 percent to $1.8 billion during the period, adding it will pay a dividend of $0.4 per share on June 20.

Ecobank shares rose 1.5 percent to 14 naira on the Nigerian bourse at 1151 GMT to hit a market value of 185 billion naira, stock exchange data showed. The lender also has listings in Ghana and the West African stock exchange.

It has gained 22 percent in the year to date in Nigeria.

ETI said that it had started to reap synergies from acquisitions in Nigeria and Ghana, exceeding its $300 million target for pretax profit for last year.

It closed a buy-out for failed Nigerian lender Oceanic bank and Ghana's Trust Bank in 2012.

The Togo-headquartered bank said it grew its loan book to $10 billion last year against $15 billion in customer deposits and total assets at $20 billion. It had a shareholders' fund of $2 billion in 2012, the bank said.

Shortly after he took up his post in October, Ecobank Chief Executive Thierry Tanoh said he the bank was seeking to enter into Equatorial Guinea, Angola and Mozambique.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/ecobank-says-2012-profit-rose-highest-ever-348-114509028--finance.html

emmys emmys torrey smith torrey smith oakland raiders Jessica Lange NFL scores week 3

Humble Bundle Introduces Weekly Sales and a New Android-Only Bundle

When the first Humble Indie Bundle launched in 2010, it seemed like a one-off event. You could name your own price for five (eventually six) indie games, which you could play on Macs or on Windows or Linux PCs. On top of that, you could decide how much of the purchase price went to the games' developers, and how much went to two charities.

It took months for the second Humble Bundle to launch. But since then, there have been almost two dozen separate sales, some featuring different wares such as music or ebooks.

Now, with the start of the new Humble Mobile Bundle, there have been two separate Humble Bundle sales in one month -- four, if you count the new Humble Weekly Sale. These sales are like miniature Humble Bundles, and so far have mostly featured games from previous sales but have offered added incentives for higher donations.

Why the "Mobile Bundle" and not "Humble Bundle With Android?"

The sale earlier this month was "With Android" because the games weren't just for Android devices -- they also ran on Macs, and on Linux and Windows PCs. "Mobile" doesn't mean the Humble Bundle crew have branched out into featuring iPhone games, which would be difficult thanks to Apple's stricter policies. It means these games are just for Android.

Which games are being featured in the Humble Bundle this time?

"Physics-based puzzler" Contre Jour, "reverse tower defense" game Anomaly Korea (sequel to the previously-featured game Anomaly Warzone Earth), over-the-shoulder beat-em-up Bladeslinger, and the Popcap casual hit Plants vs. Zombies. Gamers who beat the average payment ($5.51 at the time of this writing) also get Neo-Geo port Metal Slug 3, as well as The Room -- a popular iOS title that's making its Android debut in the Bundle.

Soundtracks are included for every game except Contre Jour, and Humble Bundles frequently add free extra games a week or so in.

Are these games available on Google Play?

The Room isn't on Google Play at all yet. The other games are, but buying them doesn't unlock the games on Google Play. Instead, you use the Humble Bundle app to download and update the games you buy.

What's in the weekly sale?

Last week, the sale was for Bastion, a smash hit indie role-playing game previously featured in the Humble Bundle. This week it's two games from the previous Humble THQ Bundle, Darksiders and Red Faction: Armageddon, plus both games' soundtracks and DLC (downloadable content) for the latter. Buyers who beat the average (for about $7) also get Darksiders II and Red Faction: Guerrila, the other games' sequel and prequel respectively. They can also choose to benefit the Child's Play Charity or the American Red Cross with their purchase.

Jared Spurbeck is an open-source software enthusiast, who uses an Android phone and an Ubuntu laptop PC. He has been writing about technology and electronics since 2008.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/humble-bundle-introduces-weekly-sales-android-only-bundle-170300891.html

brandon marshall ryder cup Kate Middleton Bottomless the Pirate Bay Hotel Transylvania eagles nfl schedule 2012

Latest tech multimillionaire is still in school

Nick D'Aloisio, 17, became a multi-millionaire when he sold his app, Summly, to Yahoo. The teenager talks about the big sale, saying "it will be different" working for the tech giant, and that he's excited about the future of his technology.

Meet Nick D?Aloisio, a regular 17-year-old and possibly the world?s youngest tech multimillionaire after his smartphone app was sold to Yahoo for an estimated $30 million.

The British teen, who started designing apps at the age of 12, came up with the idea for Summly while doing school work.

?I was revising for history exams and using Google and search engines. And I realized there was a gap in the market,? he said.

D?Aloisio created a technology that summarized news stories into 400 characters. He launched Summly and soon after Apple featured it as a new and noteworthy app.

?When I was 15, I released a demo of the app,? D?Aloisio told TODAY. ?And the Hong Kong billionaire, Li Ka-Shing, his kind of investment fund, reached out to me. We had a phone call where they didn?t know my age. At the end of the call, they were like, ?When should we meet? We?ll fly to London.? I was kinda like: ?Before school or after school.? "

Asked if the money will change him, D?Aloisio said no.

?My motivation was never about the money, it was about the technology and the product. So because of that, I don?t think going forward it will feel that different,? he said.

And no splurges are on the horizon. ?Well, I can?t touch the money. It?s like in a trust fund with my parents. So I?ll be managing it with them,? D?Aloisio said.

The Yahoo acquisition was pegged at $30 million by All Things D, which cited unnamed sources who said the company paid 90 percent in cash and 10 percent in stock. The British teen will reportedly go to work for Yahoo for 18 months as part of the deal.

?I?m really excited that we?ve sold it because Yahoo?s a really great company to be joining right now, I think with Marissa Mayer there as their CEO,? he said.? As a technologist, it?s great time to be joining the company because they?re focusing on mobile and applications and that?s exactly what Summly was.?

Since the acquisition, Summly is no longer available as a free app, but will be incorporated into several Yahoo offerings as it repositions its focus on mobile.

?I think the plan is to take our technology, this summarization algorithm and integrate it into as many different parts of Yahoo as possible,? D?Aloisio said.

With one mega-deal under his belt, D?Aloisio said he has a few role models to emulate.?Mark Zuckerberg?s obviously very inspirational because he?s a young CEO of kinda a big company and he started when he was 19. I think Steve Jobs is also really inspirational for me because he was very persistent in doing what he wanted to do and that?s why Apple became what it is,? D?Aloisio said.

Source: http://feeds.nbcnews.com/c/35002/f/653351/s/2a0df7ab/l/0Llifeinc0Btoday0N0C0Inews0C20A130C0A30C270C174864650Elatest0Etech0Emultimillionaire0Eis0Estill0Ein0Eschool0Dlite/story01.htm

sloth birth control pill recall ground hog day florida primary results black history groundhogs day paula abdul

বৃহস্পতিবার, ২৮ মার্চ, ২০১৩

Facebook goes red for same-sex marriage ? even for Senator Warner

Countless people changed their Facebook profile picture to a red equals sign in a show of support for the same-sex marriage cases before the Supreme Court today and tomorrow.

By Associated Press / March 26, 2013

Senator Warner joined Facebook users across the country in adopting the pink and red adaptation of the Human Rights Commission's iconic equality symbol as his profile picture today in a statement of support for same-sex marriage, currently being debated by the Supreme Court.

Screenshot from Sen. Mark Warner's Facebook profile

Enlarge

Like millions of others, U.S. Sen. Mark Warner changed his Facebook profile picture to a red equals sign today, announcing his support for the same-sex marriage cases being argued before the Supreme Court today and tomorrow. Senator Warner, a Virginia Democrat who describes himself as a centrist, announced yesterday on Facebook that he now supports same-sex marriage.

Skip to next paragraph

' + google_ads[0].line2 + '
' + google_ads[0].line3 + '

On Facebook, Warner wrote that he supports marriage equality "because it is the fair and right thing to do."

Same-sex marriage is a top priority for the Human Rights Campaign, the nonprofit organization whose iconic symbol of a yellow equals sign against a blue background turned red and pink today to emphasize the love behind every same-sex (or opposite-sex) marriage.

Warner's disclosure marks an evolution of his opinion on same-sex marriage. He had previously supported civil unions for same-sex couples, and was the first governor to ban discrimination in hiring and workplace protection for gay state employees.

In 2010, he backed ending the Pentagon's "don't ask, don't tell" policy toward gays in the military.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/ziIHYjtZFls/Facebook-goes-red-for-same-sex-marriage-even-for-Senator-Warner

country music awards 2012 wrestlemania 28 results earl scruggs game of thrones wrestlemania 28 game of thrones season 2 dierks bentley

Who really shot Bin Laden?

Despite renewed controversy over who actually killed Osama bin Laden, the one member of SEAL Team Six who could settle the whole thing -- and the man who may have actually pulled the trigger that fateful night -- may never speak out, according to new reports and a former member of the elite unit.

"You're never going to hear from him," the ex-SEAL Team Six member told ABC News. "I've spoken to him. He's just the type that doesn't care about it... [He] doesn't think he did anything special. He simply pulled the trigger when he was supposed to. That's why he'll never go public."

The al Qaeda leader was killed almost two years ago, but questions over who exactly took him down reignited this week after a pair of reports -- first out of the special operations website SOFREP.com and then from CNN national security analyst Peter Bergen -- cited anonymous SEAL Team Six members who claimed that the account of "the Shooter" featured in a recent Esquire magazine article was, to quote SOFREP's source, "complete bulls**t."

Both CNN's and SOFREP's reports cite a single anonymous SEAL Team Six member each, and both point out apparent inconsistencies in the Esquire account.

In the Esquire article, an ex-SEAL, who the magazine only calls "the Shooter," claims he and another SEAL, the "point man," were alone on the stairs heading up to the third floor of bin Laden's compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan. Before they reached the third floor, the point man saw a man poke his head out of the bedroom doorway on the third floor so the point man unleashed a few shots in his direction. The shots missed, however, and when the pair reached the third floor, the point man peeled off to tackle two women who were in the hallway -- a move meant to protect his teammates from possible suicide bombs. The Shooter, then, was the first to enter the bedroom where he came face-to-face with bin Laden, standing just inches away, and was the one who shot him three times in the head before he could get to a nearby AK-47.

READ: Bin Laden Shooter Reportedly Speaks: 'That's Him, Boom, Done'

That account is markedly different from the first SEAL account of the raid, as written by the pseudonymous Mark Owen in the book "No Easy Day," which came out last fall.

In Owen's account, Owen, the point man and a third SEAL -- since identified as Esquire's "the Shooter" -- all went up to the third floor together after the point man's shots from the stairway. But when they entered bin Laden's room together, they found the al Qaeda leader already down and bleeding from the head. The point man's earlier shots had apparently connected.

The two women were inside the bedroom when the point man, having deemed the downed bin Laden was not a threat, tackled them into the corner. Owen and the Shooter then fired a few more bullets into bin Laden's dying body. Only later did the SEALs realize who they had killed, Owen said.

READ: Former SEAL on Why We Shot Bin Laden on Sight

Clouding the events further is another account written by "Black Hawk Down" author Mark Bowden called "The Finish" based on interviews with higher-level military officials up the chain of command all the way to President Obama. In that account, three SEALs ascended the steps together but bin Laden was alive and standing in the bedroom when the point man entered. The point man tackled the two women in the room and the second SEAL through the door, who Bowden did not identify, was the one that shot bin Laden first in the chest and then in the head.

Bowden's book, which was still in press when "No Easy Day" hit bookshelves, later carried an insert deferring to Owen's version of events.

Esquire Author: Claims 'Extraordinarily Speculative'

The unidentified SEALs who spoke recently to CNN and SOFREP said certain parts of Esquire's Shooter account don't add up, such as the idea the Shooter knew bin Laden was a threat because he had a weapon nearby. They said that none of the SEALs knew that an AK-47 was nearby until minutes after bin Laden was killed when they found it during a search of the compound. It was stashed above the bedroom doorway, where the Shooter would not have seen it as he entered, they said.

In addition, the Shooter's detractors claimed the men on the mission had been told to try not shoot bin Laden in the head for identification purposes, meaning the Shooter either ignored that directive when he was just feet from his target, or, in their opinion, it was more likely the point man's shots were the ones that killed bin Laden well before the SEALs knew who it was they had hit.

Phil Bronstein, the executive chairman of the Center for Investigative Reporting and author of the Esquire article, told ABC News Wednesday he "absolutely" stands by his original story and said arguments like those made by the other SEALs are "extraordinarily speculative... about what they would've done, what they shouldn't have done."

Bronstein also referred ABC News to Wednesday's statement from Esquire's Editor in Chief, David Granger, which defended the Esquire story, saying that facts of the original article had been vetted by SEAL Team Six members.

"Multiple members of SEAL Team Six confirmed the Shooter was one of those two [first on the top floor] and reported to us that it was known within the unit that the Shooter had fired the fatal shots," Granger wrote. "Other individuals briefed on the mission confirmed this to us."

A spokesperson for the U.S. Special Operations Command, which oversees the Joint Special Operations Command that launched the raid, told ABC News the command wouldn't be the one to settle the controversy anytime soon. He declined to comment on operations and said the official version of events probably wouldn't be declassified for more than two decades.

That leaves the point man, the only person in the room when bin Laden breathed his last who hasn't spoken publicly, to throw his hat in the ring. And according to the CNN and SOFREP reports and the ex-SEAL with whom ABC News spoke, he's not the type to trade the special warfare shadows for the media spotlight. Not "in a million years," the CNN report said.

One thing every account does agree on is that the point man was one of the heroes of that night for risking his life to tackle the two women closest to bin Laden.

"If either woman had on a suicide vest, he probably saved our lives, but it would've cost him his," Owen wrote in "No Easy Day." "It was a selfless decision made in a split second."

"He thought he was going to absorb the blast of suicide vests; he was going to kill himself so I could get the shot. It was the most heroic thing I've ever seen," the Shooter said in Esquire.

CLICK HERE to return to The Investigative Unit homepage.

Retiring RIM founder has no plans to sell stake

TORONTO (AP) ? Research In Motion co-founder Mike Lazaridis say he has no plans to sell his significant interest in the BlackBerry maker now that he's retiring as vice chairman and director.

Lazaridis said in an interview with The Associated Press on Thursday that having fulfilled a commitment to the board, he has decided to retire after 29 years with the company.

He says he is leaving RIM in good hands. According to FactSet, Lazaridis is the second biggest shareholder with a 5.7 percent stake.

He and Jim Balsillie had stepped down as co-CEOs in January 2012 after several quarters of disappointing results. Thorsten Heins, the chief operating officer, took over and spent the past year cutting costs and steering Research In Motion Ltd. toward the launch of new BlackBerry 10 phones.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/495d344a0d10421e9baa8ee77029cfbd/Article_2013-03-28-CN-Earns-Research-In-Motion-Lazaridis-Leaves/id-6fbf2abdfe13434eb2bb2da45694c7b5

the pitch brandon inge freedom tower freedom tower eric church quick silver where have you been rihanna

Cyprus: cash, security control for banks reopening

NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) ? Cyprus has imposed limits on money transfers and hired extra security guards as it prepares for the planned reopening Thursday of its banks, which have been closed for almost two weeks to avoid a run during the country's financial drama.

A banking official said Wednesday that new controls will include restrictions on large-scale transfers from the country's two largest and most troubled lenders, Bank of Cyprus and Laiki, when they reopen Thursday. Both are being restructured and big depositors face losses of as much as 40 percent.

Authorities are looking to increase the daily withdrawal limit from 100 euros to 300 euros (from $130 to $386), while payroll payments will be allowed in order to help businesses, which have taken a huge hit as people cut down on their spending amid the uncertainty swirling about the banks.

The restrictions will be kept for at least a week until the situation stabilizes, said the official, who spoke only on condition of anonymity because the measures have yet to be officially announced.

Cyprus's banking sector grew to nearly eight times the size of the country's economy, mainly on the back of substiantial deposits from Russia. This sparked accusations that the country was being used by Russian criminals to launder their money. Over the past week the Russian government has criticized Europe's handling of the crisis in Cyprus.

Russian millionaire businessman Andrey Dashin told the Associated Press in an interview that he doesn't believe his fellow countrymen would rush to pull businesses or money out of the country once banks reopen, despite the fact that many will take a hit from a tax on accounts over 100,000 euros in both Bank of Cyprus and Laiki.

"There won't be a substantial Russian run" on Cypriot banks, said Dashin, 37, who runs his currency speculation company ForexTime from a brand-new high-rise in the southern coastal resort of Limassol. Dashin doesn't stand to lose on his deposits which aren't in either of the top two Cypriot banks.

"Russians are much more accustomed to such circumstances, we've had so many crisis in Russia...I don't have the feeling that (Russians) are ready to pull out their business or money out of their country," Dashin said.

But he said Russians want to have a "clear picture" on the kind of capital movement limits that will be imposed so as not to choke off businesses, warning that tight restrictions would be "a sign for businesspeople that their cash is trapped."

Dashin dismissed reports that Cypriot banks were being used to launder dirty Russian cash as unproven rumors and urged Cyprus to bring in internationally respected auditors to clear the air.

Meanwhile, private security firm G4S will dispatch 180 of its staff to all bank branches across the island to keep a lid on any possible trouble, said John Argyrou, managing director of the firm's Cypriot arm.

Cypriot students shout slogans near the presidential palace in capital Nicosia, on Tuesday, March 26, 2013. Banks across Cyprus remain firmly padlocked Tuesday after financial authorities extended the... more? Cypriot students shout slogans near the presidential palace in capital Nicosia, on Tuesday, March 26, 2013. Banks across Cyprus remain firmly padlocked Tuesday after financial authorities extended the country?s bank closure, fearing worried depositors will rush to drain their accounts. The shut-down is hammering businesses, which have been without access to their funds for more than a week.(AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris) less? "Our presence there will be for the comfort of both bank staff and clients, but police will also be present," he said.

Argyrou said he doesn't foresee any serious trouble unfolding once banks open their doors because people had time to "digest" what has transpired.

"There may be some isolated incidents, but it's in our culture to be civil and patient, so I don't expect anything serious."

Another 120 staff from G4S would be assigned money transportation duties.

Banks were closed on March 16 as politicians scrambled to come up with a plan to raise 5.8 billion euros ($7.5 billion) that would qualify the country for 10 billion euros ($12.9 billion) in bailout loans from fellow eurozone partners and the International Monetary Fund.

Under the deal clinched in Brussels early Monday, Cyprus agreed to slash its oversized banking sector and inflict hefty losses on large Laiki and Bank of Cyprus depositors.

Laiki is to be restructured, with its healthy assets going into a "good bank" and its nonperforming loans and toxic assets going into a "bad bank," officials have said. The healthy side will be absorbed into the Bank of Cyprus.

The board of directors of both banks has been fired and administrators appointed to handle the restructuring and absorption, the banking official said.

Bank of Cyprus CEO Yiannis Kypris issued a statement saying the Central Bank governor had asked him verbally Wednesday to resign.

"These are very difficult times for everyone. The Bank of Cyprus was and must remain the basic support of the economy and our society in the effort to deal with the crisis our country is going through," Kypris said. "I hope that the handling of this transition phase will respect the workers, shareholders and customers of the Bank of Cyprus."

Cypriot officials said the deal would mean the country would shift its focus away from being an international center of financial services. That is expected to cost jobs, adding to the unemployment rate which now stands at around 14 percent.

The country's foreign minister said his country almost left the eurozone during last week's bailout talks.

Ioannis Kasoulidis told German daily Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung in an interview to be published Thursday that dropping the common currency was "a possibility which we seriously considered for a while."

Business leaders and cabinet ministers were meeting with President Nicos Anastasiades on Wednesday to find ways to get the economy going again.

To give consumers a break, electricity prices will drop 5.75 percent next month. Over the next couple of weeks, authorities will look into how they can reduce them by another 3 percent, said Commerce Minister Giorgos Lakkotrypis.

Interior Minister Socrates Hasikos said his ministry is looking to cut red tape in order to attract foreign investment. He said Chinese investors have shown increasing interest in property sales, adding that a single real estate office has sold some 400 residences to Chinese buyers.

"There has always been interest from foreign investors," said Hasikos. "The question is how we as the government, as Cyprus, can convince all these investors ...that the environment is secure, that whatever happened has now passed and that they can continue securely investing in Cyprus."

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/cyprus-cash-security-control-banks-reopening-130126848--finance.html

jason whitlock beach boys tony bennett joe walsh the civil wars duggar miscarriage roman holiday

বুধবার, ২৭ মার্চ, ২০১৩

Spring 2013 - A Woman's Health - Women Magazine

The spring issue of Women features a variety of informative and inspiring articles devoted to a wide range of women?s health topics, including:

How Important is that Mammogram?
Walking for Heart Health
Thyroid Primer
Mohs Surgery
Women?s Giving Circles
RA Tips

Features

Body Wise

Nutrition and Exercise

The War Room

Living and Thriving with Cancer

Spirit House

Tending to the Soul

Every Woman?s Health

Health Issues Facing Women at Home and around the World

Living and Thriving with RA ? Patients share their stories.
Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a debilitating autoimmune disease that affects approximately 1.3 million people in the United States, striking women three times more often than men.

RA Tips: Navigating the Health Insurance Maze
If you have rheumatoid arthritis, these tips can make all the difference in ensuring you get what you need from the time spent with your physician.
By Seth Ginsberg, Co-Founder, CreakyJoints

Facing Arthritis Together
Kevin Purcell was diagnosed with juvenile rheumatoid arthritis at age 10. Within months of the diagnosis, his wrists and left elbow were well on their way to fusing and his knees, neck, and ankles had significant and irreversible damage.
By Diana Price

Women?s Healthcare
To state the obvious, men and women are different. Manufacturers of everything from tools (pink power drill, anyone?) to bikes to razors know well the power of marketing women-specific products and services.
By Laurie Wertich

Ask the Dr. ? Hormone Therapy
Q&A with Marjory L. S. Gass, MD, NCMP, consultant, Cleveland Clinic Center for Specialized Women?s Health, professor, Case Western Reserve School of Medicine

Women?s Thyroid Issues
Thyroid problems are common in women. Here is what you need to know.?By Kari Bohkle, ScD

Source: http://awomanshealth.com/spring-2013/

the band perry grammy awards whitney houston autopsy dobie gray bruce springsteen grammy nominations lil boosie

Video: Decoding the genetic history of the Texas longhorn

Tuesday, March 26, 2013

Texas Longhorn cattle have a hybrid global ancestry, according to a study by University of Texas at Austin researchers published this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

The study of the genome of the Longhorn and related breeds tells a fascinating global history of human and cattle migration. It traces back through Christopher Columbus' second voyage to the New World, the Moorish invasion of Spain and the ancient domestication of the aurochs in the Middle East and India.

"It's a real Texas story, an American story," said Emily Jane McTavish, a doctoral student in the lab of biology professor David Hillis. "For a long time people thought these New World cattle were domesticated from a pure European lineage. But it turns out they have a more complex, more hybrid, more global ancestry, and there's evidence that this genetic diversity is partially responsible for their greater resilience to harsh climatic conditions."

To reconstruct the genetic history of Texas Longhorns, McTavish, Hillis and colleagues from the University of Missouri-Columbia analyzed almost 50,000 genetic markers from 58 cattle breeds. The most comprehensive such analysis to date, it was funded in part by the Cattlemen's Texas Longhorn Conservancy, which helped the scientists get access to samples used by ranchers.

Among the findings was that the Texas Longhorn breed are direct descendants of the first cattle in the New World. The ancestral cattle were brought over by Columbus in 1493 to the island of Hispaniola. They traveled the rest of the way to the continent in 1521 on the ships of later Spanish colonists.

Over the next two centuries the Spanish moved the cattle north, arriving in the area that would become Texas near the end of the 17th century. The cattle escaped or were turned loose on the open range, where they remained mostly wild for the next two centuries.

"It was known on some level that Longhorns are descendants from cattle brought over by early Spanish settlers," said Hillis, the Alfred W. Roark Centennial Professor in the College of Natural Sciences, "but they look so different from the cattle you see in Spain and Portugal today. So there was speculation that there had been interbreeding with later imports from Europe. But their genetic signature is co mpletely consistent with being direct descendants of the cattle Columbus brought over."

The study reveals that being a "pure" descendant of cattle from the Iberian peninsula indicates a more complicated ancestry than was understood. Approximately 85 percent of the Longhorn genome is "taurine," descended from the ancient domestication of the wild aurochs that occurred in the Middle East 8,000-10,000 years ago. As a result, Longhorns look similar to purer taurine breeds such as Holstein, Hereford and Angus, which came to Europe from the Middle East.

The other 15 percent of the genome is "indicine," from the other ancient domestication of the aurochs, in India. These indicine cattle, which often have a characteristic hump at the back of the neck, spread into Africa and from there up to the Iberian peninsula.

"It's consistent with the Moorish invasions from the 8th to the 13th centuries," said Hillis. "The Moors brought cattle with them, and brought these African genes, and of course the European cattle were there as well. All those influences come together in the cattle of the Iberian peninsula, which were used to stock the Canary Islands, which is where Columbus stopped and picked up cattle on his second voyage and brought them to the New World."

Once in the New World, most of the cattle eventually went feral. Under the pressures of natural selection they were able to re-evolve ancient survival traits that had been artificially bred out of their European ancestors. Selection for longer horns allowed them to defend against wild predators. They became leaner and more able to survive heat and drought.

"The Longhorns that were in the area when Anglo settlers arrived almost looked more like the ancestral aurochsen than like modern cattle breeds," said McTavish. "Living wild on the range, they had to become very self sufficient. Having that genetic reservoir from those wild ancestors made it possible for a lot of those traits to be selected for once again."

McTavish said it's possible the indicine heritage in particular helped, because the climate in India and Africa tended to be hotter and drier than in Europe.

The Longhorns remained wild on the range, or very loosely managed, until after the Civil War, when Texans rounded up the wild herds and began supplying beef to the rest of the country. Since then the fortunes of the Longhorns have waxed and waned depending on how their unique genetic profile intersects with the changing needs of American consumers.

"The Longhorns almost went extinct starting in the late 19th century," said Hillis. "A lot of the value of cattle at that time had to do with the fat they had, because the primary lighting source people had was candles, made of tallow, and Texas Longhorns have very low fat content. Ranchers began fencing off the range and importing breeds from Europe that had higher fat content. That's when Americans began developing their taste for fatty beef, so then the other cattle became valuable in that respect as well. The only reason the Longhorns didn't go extinct was because half a dozen or so ranchers kept herds going even though they knew that these other breeds were more valuable in some sense. They appreciated that the Longhorns were hardier, more self-sufficient."

Hillis, who raises Longhorns of his own out at the Double Helix Ranch, said that the winds of history now seem to be blowing in the Longhorns' direction. They can survive in hotter, drier climates, which will become increasingly important as the world warms. They provide lean and grass-fed beef, which is seen as healthier by many consumers. And their genes may prove valuable to ranchers, who can use the increasingly sophisticated genetic information to selectively breed the Longhorns' toughness into other breeds of cattle.

"It's another chapter in the story of a breed that is part of the history of Texas," he said.

###

University of Texas at Austin: http://www.utexas.edu

Thanks to University of Texas at Austin for this article.

This press release was posted to serve as a topic for discussion. Please comment below. We try our best to only post press releases that are associated with peer reviewed scientific literature. Critical discussions of the research are appreciated. If you need help finding a link to the original article, please contact us on twitter or via e-mail.

This press release has been viewed 19 time(s).

Source: http://www.labspaces.net/127449/Video__Decoding_the_genetic_history_of_the_Texas_longhorn

eminem yankees Tagg Romney Bosses Day Cabin Fever 2 Alexis Wright Zumba binder full of women

astaektagadar

রবিবার, ৩১ মার্চ, ২০১৩

Artificial spleen to treat bloodstream infections: Sepsis therapeutic device under development

Crosby hit in mouth by puck, will not return

Amazon acquires literary social media website Goodreads

Recent posts

Head-on collisions between DNA-code reading machineries accelerate gene evolution

শনিবার, ৩০ মার্চ, ২০১৩

Softbank and Sprint say no to Huawei in hopes of getting merger back on track

'Waste heat' may economize CO2 capture

Rush Limbaugh: Gay Marriage is Inevitable

Vilanova to run 1st Barca practice since return

Must-win matches? Maybe

Beckham relishing chance to play against Barcelona

Feds bypass the state on Title X funds (Offthekuff)

Large robotic jellyfish could one day patrol oceans

শুক্রবার, ২৯ মার্চ, ২০১৩

Many doctors do not provide tobacco cessation assistance to lung cancer patients

Survey results from IASLC Tobacco Control and Smoking Cessation Committee

Survey results from IASLC Tobacco Control and Smoking Cessation Committee

Ecobank says 2012 profit rose to highest ever of $348 mln

Humble Bundle Introduces Weekly Sales and a New Android-Only Bundle

Latest tech multimillionaire is still in school

বৃহস্পতিবার, ২৮ মার্চ, ২০১৩

Facebook goes red for same-sex marriage ? even for Senator Warner

Who really shot Bin Laden?

Esquire Author: Claims 'Extraordinarily Speculative'

Retiring RIM founder has no plans to sell stake

Cyprus: cash, security control for banks reopening

বুধবার, ২৭ মার্চ, ২০১৩

Spring 2013 - A Woman's Health - Women Magazine

Features

Body Wise

The War Room

Spirit House

Every Woman?s Health

Video: Decoding the genetic history of the Texas longhorn

ব্লগ সংরক্ষাণাগার

আমার সম্পর্কে