March usually means bro-tastic bar crawls for St. Patrick?s Day and us avoiding anything to do with the intersection of 2nd and Chestnut. But fear not, ?cause March is going to be awesome in Northern Liberties this year with Northern Exposure. Starting March 1st , you can pick up a ?passport? and drink over a 100 different beers at NINE different bars. With each beer, you get a stamp. More stamps mean more prizes! The festival runs from March 1st to March 31st.
54 year old dentist Akihisa Yumi passed away on Thursday, only one day after donating the ?Pray for Japan? teacup, which was kissed by the famous U.S. pop star Lady Gaga, to the local government of disaster-stuck Miyagi Prefecture. The teacup was used by Lady Gaga during a press conference in Japan in 2011, shortly after the March 11th earthquake and tsunami disasters, with the words ?Pray for Japan? written in Japanese on the side, and subsequently auctioned for charity in May 2012.
Yumi, who is from Miyagi?s city of Osaki, was the winning bidder, paying 6 million yen (then worth approx. $75,000) for the teacup, which also features her signature and lipstick imprint. He donated the memorabilia to the Miyagi prefectural government on Wednesday, in hopes that it would encourage people to visit Japan?s recovering region, and not to forget the disasters that took place almost two years ago. Sadly, Yumi passed away on Thursday at a local hospital due to his struggle with an intractable lung disease. He had been incapacitated and unable to speak, but sister Koto Cho, 52, says that Yumi, who regularly volunteered after the disaster, even helping to identify some of the near 20,000 victims through their dental records, was smiling as he died. She said that her brother was probably relieved that the teacup had been safely delivered.
At the time of its auction, the teacup still hadn?t even been washed from when Lady Gaga sipped Diet Coke from it in Tokyo only ten weeks after the 2011 natural disasters. As Yumi?s sister presented the teacup and saucer to Miyagi Governor Yoshihiro Murai, she said, ?I hope people will be touched by Lady Gaga?s and my brother?s love for the disaster-stricken areas.? Murai promised the gift would be used as ?effectively? as possible in order to encourage people. Idea?s on what to do with teacup are still being discussed, but one proposal sees it being put on display at a memorial park.
Google offered an olive branch to content producers when it promised to downrank pirate sites in its search results last summer. Really, the RIAA was looking for the whole tree; it just published a report claiming that Google's technique hasn't had any tangible impact. The agency argues that the millions of takedown requests didn't lead to "significant" drops in rank for habitual violators. It further contends that many legitimate music sites only showed up in the top ten for about half of the searches, and were often kicked down the ladder by their bootleg counterparts. We're reaching out to Google to get its side of the story, but the RIAA isn't quite as patient: it's demanding that Google "immediately" change the results and volunteers its help. While that's a step forward from the music group's previous accusatory stance, it doesn't quite represent a two-way conversation on anti-piracy measures.
GEO Group Inc., the nation's second-largest private prison conglomerate, has until now mostly kept its brand far from the law-abiding public's consciousness.
But this week, as the company donated $6 million as part of a naming rights deal for a college football stadium in Florida, brand image apparently became an elevated concern. Following reports in Deadspin, The Huffington Post and the New York Times on the stadium deal between GEO Group and Florida Atlantic University, a page about the company on Wikipedia suddenly came in for an extreme makeover, with all negative references excised.
A section on the Wikipedia page entitled "controversies," which listed state and federal investigations and lawsuits claiming mistreatment of prisoners in GEO facilities, had disappeared. In its place was a new section, headlined "Quality of Operations," which duplicated language in company filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
According to Wikipedia's revision history on the GEO Group entry, someone named Abraham Cohen made substantial changes to the entry Wednesday, deleting references to the controversies and replacing descriptions of the company's operations with text matching that on GEO Group's website. GEO Group employs an Abraham Cohen as a corporate relations manager, according to several articles on the GEO Group's websites, public citations in news articles and a public profile on LinkedIn. Abraham Cohen's LinkedIn profile says he's a Florida Atlantic University graduate and news stories identified him as a former student body president.
A spokesman for the GEO Group, Pablo Paez, wrote in an email that the company was "not going to comment on edits to a Wikipedia page," saying GEO has a policy of not addressing "information that is found on Internet sites or social media outlets, particularly those that can be freely updated by a variety of public users." Paez did not respond to follow-up questions about the similarity between the name for the Wikipedia user who altered the website and the corporate relations official employed by company.
By early Wednesday evening, several Wikipedia editors had made changes to the entry, some registering major concerns with revised language. One editor, Salex1093, wrote in the revision: "If you want to add additional information, it must be from a neutral point of view. Wikipedia refers to the subjects of its articles in the third, not first, person."
Before Wikipedia editors changed the Geo Group page back to its original form around 9 p.m. Wednesday, Wikipedia placed an alert on top of the GEO Group entry that read: "This article appears to be written like an advertisement. Please help improve it by rewriting promotional content from a neutral point of view and removing any inappropriate external links."
Jesse Lava, a HuffPost blogger and campaign director at the Brave New Foundation, a social justice advocacy group, pointed out the Wikipedia revisions in a blog post Wednesday, asking whether it was "an effort to minimize the damage" after increased scrutiny following the stadium deal with Florida Atlantic University.
GEO Group, a $1.6 billion corporation that manages prisons in the United States, Australia and South Africa, said Tuesday that the $6 million naming rights deal was a purely philanthropic gift to the university's athletic department. Money would go toward scholarships and academic efforts, in addition to needed finances for the stadium, the company said.
The university, located four miles from the GEO Group headquarters in Boca Raton, Fla., announced Tuesday that it would brand its new, 30,000-seat football field GEO Group Stadium.
Florida Atlantic had been searching for a corporate sponsor for its $70 million stadium since 2011, after borrowing nearly $45 million to pay for construction. In a news release Tuesday, Florida Atlantic President Mary Jane Saunders said it was "so exciting" to have GEO Group's name on the stadium and cited the company's "incredible generosity."
Several immigrant rights groups condemned the deal Wednesday, questioning why the university would partner with a company that profits from incarceration, including the detention of undocumented immigrants apprehended by the federal government.
The company has been at the center of several controversies across the U.S., including at a youth detention center in Texas, which was shut down after state inspectors said they found "filthy" and "unsafe" conditions that included feces on walls. Several riots erupted at a GEO-operated federal prison in west Texas that housed mostly undocumented immigrants in 2008 and 2009, following the death of an epileptic inmate who had been left in isolation despite pleas for help.
Our first installment of Bubble Trouble introduces the concept of this column and takes a look at three of the teams that are on the fence for the Big Dance. The countdown for Selection Sunday has dropped under four weeks (March 17th), and the NCAA Tournament officially tips off on March 19th in Dayton.
Life on the NCAA Tournament ?bubble? can be absolutely excruciating. It can be tormenting, stressful, traumatic and cause you to lose hair faster than LeBron James. No, to answer your snarky question, I have never personally been a member of a bubble team. But have you ever heard either a player or coach say that they authentically enjoy being safely in the at-large field one day, only to be destined for the National Invitational Tournament (NIT) the next?
Take Seth Greenberg, the former Virginia Tech coach who now makes a living by heckling Andy Katz on ESPN. In his nine-year tenure with the Hokies, Greenberg was so accustomed to being on the brink of the NCAA?s that he practically lived inside of a bubble. Notorious for having impressive records that were boosted by scheduling soft out-of-conference opponents, Greenberg would go ballistic whenever CBS?s Greg Gumbel hosted a full Selection Show without mentioning Virginia Tech. Eventually, Greenberg?s bubble popped one too many times and caused him to be fired. He had a 170-123 overall record in Blacksburg and left with the second-most wins in program history, but his inability to get over the hump and amaze the tournament committee did him in at the end. Did I mention life on the bubble sucks?
Fortuitously for those who, like me, aspire to be bracketologists, NCAA Tournament bubble teams are as much of a guarantee in life as torn ACL?s to star athletes and lackluster dunk contests. The greatest playoff system known to man hands out spots to just 68 teams, and there lies a fine line between Shaka Smart?s 2011 Final Four run with Virginia Commonwealth and Seth Greenberg?s perennial NIT appearances with the Hokies. Both VCU and VA Tech would flip back and forth from Joe Lunardi?s ?Last Four In? to ?First Four Out? quicker than a Kyrie Irving crossover, however, in the end all anyone will remember is that ?Shaka-ing the World? became a nationwide phenomenon while Greenberg hit the streets after being canned.
Without further ado (or further missed dunks during NBA All-Star festivities), allow me to unveil the new sensation that I have coined ?Bubble Trouble.? ?Bubble Trouble? takes a look at a handful of teams that still have a little work to do in order to lock up a bid to the NCAA Tournament. Keep in mind that it would only be a waste of time to inform you that Penn State needs to win the Big-10 tournament, find a cure for cancer and win a bowl game to make the field. On the flip side, I?m not here to focus on the Gonzaga?s and Syracuse?s of the world, who barring a 2007 New York Mets collapse are safely in the tourney and poised to challenge for a title. No, this column is all about the bubble. So let?s get popping!
St. John?s (15-10 overall, 7-6 Big East)
Considering the fact that St. John?s rotation is all freshmen and sophomores, it?s incredible that Steve Lavin has the Red Storm on the bubble at all. The Johnnies had some bad early losses to San Francisco and UNC-Asheville but have since grown up and collected a few hard-knock conference wins against Connecticut, Cincinnati, and Notre Dame. The Big East may soon be extinct, but for now the league remains a great argument for bubble teams who survive its daunting rigors. St. John?s can surely benefit from that, but what will help them even more is taking out either Pitt or Marquette at home over the next couple weeks.
Current Outlook: The Johnnies would miss out on the NCAA Tournament if it started today, but that wouldn?t be due to a lack of big-win opportunities. Wins over Marquette or Pitt, plus a solid showing in the Big East Tournament, can put the Red Storm right back in the thick of things.
Maryland (18-7 overall, 6-6 ACC)
Ah, if only a home win over rival Duke got you an automatic berth into the Big Dance. Maryland certainly entered back into the NCAA Tournament conversation after knocking off the Blue Devils (#1 in the RPI, which is one of the tools that the committee values greatly), but they?re crazy if they think they can just coast until Selection Sunday. Those in College Park who hail from Fantasyland look at Maryland?s 12-1 non-conference record and all but book a ticket to March Madness. In reality, however, the Terps are 2-4 in away games and got swept by a bad Florida State team. As for their 12-1 record against non-ACC squads, that strength of schedule rank was 299. A number that high, in a category that important, spells doom for Maryland. For now.?
Feb. 19, 2013 ? Spanish researchers have studied adults' accuracy in the recognition of the emotion causing babies to cry. Eye movement and the dynamic of the cry play a key role in recognition.
It is not easy to know why a newborn cries, especially amongst first-time parents. Although the main reasons are hunger, pain, anger and fear, adults cannot easily recognise which emotion is the cause of the tears.
"Crying is a baby's principal means of communicating its negative emotions and in the majority of cases the only way they have to express them," as explained by Mariano Ch?liz, researcher at the University of Valencia.
Ch?liz participates in a study along with experts from the University of Murcia and the National University of Distance Education (UNED) which describes the differences in the weeping pattern in a sample of 20 babies between 3 and 18 months caused by the three characteristic emotions: fear, anger and pain.
In addition, the team observed the accuracy of adults in recognising the emotion that causes the babies to cry, analysing the affective reaction of observers before the sobbing.
According to the results published recently in the Spanish Journal of Psychology, the main differences manifest in eye activity and the dynamics of the cry.
"When babies cry because of anger or fear, they keep their eyes open but keep them closed when crying in pain," states the researcher.
As for the dynamic of the cry, both the gestures and the intensity of the cry gradually increase if the baby is angry. On the contrary, the cry is as intense as can be in the case of pain and fear.
The adults do not properly identify which emotion is causing the cry, especially in the case of anger and fear.
Nonetheless, "although the observers cannot recognise the cause properly, when babies cry because they are in pain, this causes a more intense affective reaction than when they cry because of angry or fear," outlines Ch?liz.
For the experts, the fact that pain is the most easily recognisable emotion can have an adaptive explanation, since crying is a warning of a potentially serious threat to health or survival and thus requires the carer to respond urgently.
Anger, fear and pain
When a baby cries, facial muscle activity is characterised by lots of tension in the forehead, eyebrows or lips, opening of the mouth and raised cheeks. The researchers observed different patterns between the three negative emotions.
As Ch?liz notices, when angry the majority of babies keep their eyes half-closed, either looking in apparently no direction or in a fixed and prominent manner. Their mouth is either open or half-open and the intensity of their cry increases progressively.
In the case of fear, the eyes remain open almost all the time. Furthermore, at times the infants have a penetrating look and move their head backwards. Their cry seems to be explosive after a gradual increase in tension.
Lastly, pain manifests as constantly closed eyes and when the eyes do open it is only for a few moments and a distant look is held. In addition, there is a high level of tension in the eye area and the forehead remains frowned. The cry begins at maximum intensity, starting suddenly and immediately after the stimulus.
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 Plataforma SINC, via AlphaGalileo.
Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.
Journal Reference:
Mariano Ch?liz, Enrique G. Fern?ndez-Abascal, Francisco Mart?nez-S?nchez. Infant Crying: Pattern of Weeping, Recognition of Emotion and Affective Reactions in Observers. The Spanish Journal of Psychology, 2012; 15 (3) DOI: 10.5209/rev_SJOP.2012.v15.n3.39389
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.
? Binational Couples and Immigration Reform | Main | Guest Post: Geoff Hoffman, President Obama's Vision of Immigration Enforcement ?? and Now Reform ?
February 18, 2013
President Obama's Plan: Path to Citizenship After 8 Years
From the NY Times:
A plan by President Obama for an overhaul of the immigration?system would put illegal immigrants on a path to citizenship that could begin after about eight years and would require them to go to the back of the line behind legal applicants, according to a draft of the legislation that the White House has circulated in the administration.?
Here's the link to the full article.
RCV
February 18, 2013 | Permalink
TrackBack
TrackBack URL for this entry: http://www.typepad.com/services/trackback/6a00d8341bfae553ef017d412406fa970c
Listed below are links to weblogs that reference President Obama's Plan: Path to Citizenship After 8 Years:
The 12 volt outlet in your car is useful for so many things. Have you ever wished you could plug other things into it while it's busy charging? Your wish is granted.
Plug PowerJolt Plus into your 12 volt accessory outlet and connect the coiled dock cable to your iPhone or iPod. While it's charging, PowerJolt Plus pops open to reveal another 12 volt outlet, built right in.
Features
Charges your iPhone or iPod from your 12 volt accessory outlet
Includes its own 12 volt outlet to use for other devices while charging
Built-in SmartFuse for circuit protection
Coiled cable avoids tangles, never gets lost
?
Technical Specifications
Input Voltage Range: 12 to 16 volts DC
Output Power (through dock connector for iPod/iPhone): 5 watts (5 volts DC @ 1 amp)
Passthrough Port Output Voltage: 12 to 16 volts DC
SEATTLE -- Two fifth-grade boys are in custody in Washington state after they brought a knife and gun to school with the goal of killing a schoolmate in a foiled murder plot that shocked their rural town because of their youth, prosecutors said on Friday.
The boys, accused of conspiracy to commit first-degree murder despite their tender ages of 10 and 11, also planned to harm other students by luring them away one at a time, said Tim Rasmussen, a Stevens County prosecuting attorney.
The boys are due in court next week, where a judge will determine if they had the mental capacity to carry out the attack and if they can be prosecuted in juvenile court, which in Washington is typically reserved for older defendants between ages 12 and 18.
Prosecutors said the boys had boarded a school bus on their way to an elementary school in Colville, a city of 4,600 residents in the far northeast part of the state, with the 11-year-old in possession of a knife and the 10-year-old with a functional Remington Model 1911 semi-automatic handgun.
But a fourth-grade student riding the bus saw the knife and reported it to a teacher's aide, prosecutors said. School officials found the weapons before anyone was hurt, and the two boys were arrested. They are in a juvenile detention facility.
The boys sought to lure the girl away from school, where the older boy planned to stab her, prosecutors said.
"I was going to kill her with the knife and (the younger boy) was supposed to use the gun to keep anyone from trying to stop me or mess up our plan," the older boy told police, according to the declaration of probable cause filed in court.
They intended to kill the girl because "she's rude and always made fun of me and my friends," the younger boy told investigators, according to the documents.
Attorneys for the boys declined to comment.
One of the boys had taken the gun, which originally belonged to his grandfather, from an older brother's room, according to a declaration of probable cause.
The boys also bribed another student with $80 to dissuade him from revealing what he knew about the plot, Rasmussen said.
In addition to the murder conspiracy, the 10-year-old boy faces charges of being in possession of a firearm and tampering with a witness.
The 11-year-old faces charges of murder conspiracy, juvenile firearm possession conspiracy and tampering with a witness.
If they are convicted of all the charges they could be sentenced to over three years in a juvenile treatment facility.
Copyright 2013 Thomson Reuters. Click for restrictions.
This July 2, 2011 photo provided by the U.S. Coast Guard shows Richard Belisle, second from left, and Coast Guard Petty Officer 1st Class James Hopkins, second from right, with James Wells, left, and Coast Guard Petty Officer 3rd Class Cody Beauford as they help erect a communications antenna on Shemya Island, Alaska. Belisle and Hopkins were slain in April 2012, and Wells reportedly has now been charged with their murders.
By Mike Brunker, NBC News
Authorities in Alaska have charged a suspect in the mysterious killing last year of two employees at a U.S. Coast Guard communications station in Kodiak, it was reported Friday.
NBC News? Anchorage affiliate KTUU and the Anchorage Daily News both reported the charges Friday evening, citing a written statement from the U.S. Attorney?s Office.
The statement provided no detail on what led authorities to the suspect, identified as Kodiak resident James Michael Wells, KTUU reported. It simply said he had been charged with murder in the deaths of James Hopkins and Richard Belisle and is expected to appear in federal court in Anchorage next week.
Hopkins, a Coast Guard electrician's mate, and Belisle, a retired boatswain's mate and civilian employee, were found dead at the Coast Guard station on April 12, 2012.
KTUU reported in May that the FBI asked if anyone had seen two vehicles, a white 2002 Dodge Ram pick-up truck and a blue 2001 Honda CR-V. It said that vehicles matching the descriptions belonged to James and Nancy Wells of Bell Flats, a Kodiak Island town about 12 miles from downtown Kodiak, and that the FBI had searched the couple?s property.
Authorities declined to comment on the report. James Wells, a civilian rigger who worked alongside Belisle and Hopkins repairing antennas, told KTUU at the time. ?It?s our policy not to talk to anybody.?
The communication station, which monitors May Day air and maritime traffic, is about two miles from the main Coast Guard base on Kodiak, an island about 250 miles southwest of Anchorage. About 6,300 people live in the island's main town of Kodiak, where the base is located. The base has about 1,000 Coast Guard personnel and several hundred civilian employees.
WBKO.com is happy to provide a forum for commenting and discussion. Please respect and abide by the house rules:
Keep it clean, keep it civil, keep it truthful, stay on topic, be responsible, no links, share your knowledge, and please suggest removal of comments that violate these standards.
For all the glitz and success that Apple's (AAPL) stable of iPods, iPads and iPhones have enjoyed, the 1.2 million Chinese workers who actually make them at dozens of Foxconn plants remain largely anonymous. While the cost of building a new iPhone 5 has been estimated be be around $17o, only a small fraction of that amount is estimated to come from labor costs ? perhaps less than $10.
While China's largest private employer is taking some steps to improve working conditions, it will soon face something it never has before: Union voting.
"Yeah, they're going to bargain over wages because they'd like more money," says Gordon Chang, author of The Coming Collapse of China and a contributor to Forbes. "They're really going to bargain over work rules because they got some pretty regimented rules right now that just aren't sustainable."
Amidst this backdrop, Foxconn is already moving to put more robots to work and is already in the process of installing 1 million "Foxbots" to replace people. It is also adding a new plant in Brazil, growing operations in Malaysia and possibly expanding in the U.S. As Chang sees it, the company already has 200,0000 employers outside China, pointing out that, "Foxconn started in Taiwan and moved [to mainland China] when things got too expensive. If it moved once, it can move again."
Exacerbating this changing situation is the fact that the country's labor force is aging and, Chang says, for the first time ever its supply of workers in the age range of 15 to 54 years is declining, and its "population trends are accelerating."
Related: China -New Year, New Regime Facing Big Problems
"This is a really big problem for China. You can still have an expanding economy and a shrinking population, but it means you have to expand in spite of trends not because of them," Change concludes.
For now, the still-to-be-selected union reps face a soft year-end deadline, but attention is sure to grow as time passes and the conditions at Foxconn garner more and more attention. In the meantime, Chang says China's days as the low-cost manufacturing hub of the world "are numbered," and its path forward will be more challenging. "It's a problem, especially with electronics manufacturers, because China wants to move up the value chain."
International Journal of Ad hoc, sensor & Ubiquitous Computing (IJASUC) will provide an excellent international forum for sharing knowledge and results in theory, methodology and applications of Ad Hoc & Ubiquitous computing. Current information age is witnessing a dramatic use of digital and electronic devices in the workplace and beyond. Ubiquitous Computing presents a rather arduous requirementof robustness, reliability and availability to the end user. Ad hoc, Sensor & Ubiquitous computing has received a significant and sustained research interest in terms of designing and deploying large scale and high performance computational applications in real life.
Topic of Interest
Authors are solicited to contribute to this journal by submitting articles that illustrate research results, projects, surveying works and industrial experiences that describe significant advances in the following areas, but are not limited to
Ad Hoc Computing
* Ad Hoc Networks of Autonomous Intelligent Systems * Addressing and location management * Architectures, protocols, and algorithms * Data management issues * Distributed technology * Mobile ad hoc learning * Mobile and wireless ad hoc networks * Mobile agents for ad hoc networking * Network design and planning * Novel Architectures for Ad Hoc and Sensor Networks * Performance Analysis and Simulation of Protocols * Power-aware and energy-efficient designs * Quality of service * Resource allocation * Security and privacy * Self-configuring and self-healing schemes * Services and applications * Wireless & Mobile network Security * Wireless sensor network
Sensor Networks
* Architectures, protocols and algorithms * Data allocation and information * Deployments and implementations * Embedded, network-oriented operating systems * Energy optimization * Hardware aspects of sensor design * Location management and placement * MAC protocols for wireless sensor networks * Middleware and software tools * Modeling and Performance evaluation * Radio Issues with other wireless/mobile systems * Resource allocation, services, QoS and fault tolerance * Scalability of wireless sensor networks * Security and dependability issues * Sensor circuits and devices * Software, applications and programming * Under water sensors and systems * Visualization of sensor data * Work models
Ubiquitous Computing
* Architectural structure, design decisions and philosophies * Autonomic management of ubiquitous systems * Context and location awareness, context based and implicit computing * Distributed Computing * Ubicomp Human-computer Interaction for devices * Intelligent devices and environments * Internet Computing and Applications * Interoperability and large scale deployment * Middleware services and agent technologies * Personalized & special field applications * Security Issues and Applications * Service discovery mechanisms and protocols * Software infrastructures * System support infrastructures and services * Ubiquitous systems and trust * User interfaces and interaction models * Virtualization over networks of devices * Wearable computers and technologies * Wireless networking and mobile, pervasive and ubiquitous computing * Wireless/mobile service management and delivery * Mobile Computing * Network Protocols & Wireless Communication
Paper Submission
Authors are invited to submit papers for this journal through E-mail : ijasucjournal@airccse.org or ijasucjournal@yahoo.com. Submissions must be original and should not have been published previously or be under consideration for publication while being evaluated for this Journal.
Important Dates:
Submission deadline : 25 February, 2013 Acceptance notification : 25 March, 2013 Final manuscript due : 28 March, 2013 Publication date : determined by the Editor-in-Chief
For other details please visit http://airccse.org/journal/ijasuc/ijasuc.html
Under Armour has always touted the scientific underpinnings of its sports apparel. From moisture wicking to heat trapping and everything in between, the company is quick to assert that it isn't just another athletic clothing company. But, performance enhancing shirts and pants have their limitations and, arguably, performance monitoring is a far more interesting and burgeoning field. In 2011 it dabbled with E39, a compression shirt with a space to insert a "bug" that included and accelerometer and heart rate monitor. Today, at an event in beautiful, chilly New York City, it officially unveiled the next evolution of that toe-dipping, Armour39. While there may be a shirt in the future, for now the system consists of a traditional chest strap, an iPhone app and an optional watch for those that don't like to carry their expensive smartphone with them on runs.
The convenience of gathering information and shopping online is rapidly turning into a nightmare. These days, every click puts consumers and businesses at risk for increasingly sophisticated malware and other threats. What's more, the volume of online transactions is skyrocketing. The result is a growing frequency of stolen data, identity theft and other security problems. A recent survey conducted by global Web hosting service 1&1 Internet offered eye-opening information about how today's Web environment is evolving?some might say devolving?and how consumers view the online world. The company surveyed 403 U.S. adults and found that a significant percentage have fears about using the Web and the impact it could have on their lives. In fact, concerns over Website security are on the rise. Not surprisingly, companies also face concerns about whether they are adequately protecting their Websites and, in the end, delivering a safe and secure online environment. "The vulnerabilities of Websites have become a big concern for consumers within the past decade, especially due to the incredible popularity of online shopping," said Kelly Meeneghan, manager, 1&1 Internet. "Businesses must be aware of consumer fears about divulging personal information ? and how it affects their purchasing behavior." Here's a look at some of the major issues and concerns businesses face today.
Chrome: Astrid is your favorite to-do list manager, and now it integrates with your favorite email service. The Astrid Chrome extension now brings your to-dos into Gmail, and makes it simple to add any email as a to-do item on your list, or just manage your to-dos without ever leaving Gmail's interface.
Astrid's Chrome extension has been around for a while, and adds a button to your toolbar to quickly manage your Astrid to-dos, but the latest version also integrates Astrid with Gmail. If you're a fan of Google Tasks?or rather, you use it just because it's integrated with Gmail, this Chrome extension does pretty much the same thing.
Once installed, your Astrid tasks will be available via the Mail drop-down menu, where you can view, manage, add, or mark any item complete on your list. The add-on also lets you manage multiple lists at the same time, navigate lists, and create new ones right inside Gmail. Turn on "manual order" to get Google Tasks' drag-and-drop ordering, so you can move your to-do items around just by dragging them up or down in the list.
Additionally, the extension adds a button to the Gmail toolbar you'll see when viewing an email labeled "Remind Me," which effectively turns that email into an item on your to-do list. This way if your boss emails you asking for an update by Friday, or your spouse asks you to pick up some bread on the way home, one click turns that email into an item on your to-do list, with the subject of the email as the text of the to-do. You can grab the extension at the link below, or head over to the Astrid blog to read more.
Remind Me - by Astrid | Chrome Web Store via Astrid Blog
Yahoo! News is gathering brief first-person accounts, photos and video from the severe winter weather in the northeastern United States. Here's one resident's story.
FIRST PERSON | In Stamford, Conn., the storm of the century was an anticlimactic affair. While other regions of the state report 30-plus inches of snow, Stamford had 12. While reports of injuries and major damage come rolling in, Stamford finds itself buried, but largely OK.
Skidding snowmobiles woke me on what I anticipated to be a lazy morning. Why anyone in this neighborhood -- which boasts about 355 snow-free days per year -- would own a snowmobile, I don't know. These were followed by the plows, which were followed by the occasional car or truck struggling to gain purchase on the still-icy hill.
A quick cup of coffee and I was out the door, gassing up the snow blower and starting to clear the foot of snow blanketing the driveway. The neighbor's kids were doing the same, but with shovels. Feeling sorry for the hapless kids, I brought my machine over to finish their chore.
In the meantime, the new neighbor down the block was surveying his property, shovel in hand. I meandered over to clear a path for his cars. After a brief chat, I headed next door to clear another driveway. The kids from the first house ran over and asked if they could rent the snow blower for $30. I politely declined while making my way to assist another neighbor and his daughter as they dug out their car.
The only snow blower in the neighborhood spared my back the misery of shoveling by hand, and gave me reason to say hello to my neighbors.
We know we were smart to prepare, even though it ultimately proved unnecessary. We know we were fortunate to avoid damage and injury. We bid Nemo farewell as it travels further north; and we sip hot chocolate before getting on with our day, thankful to be a little closer to our neighbors than before.
We haven't checked in with littleBits in quite some time and, honestly, it was a bit of a surprise to find the electronic tinker toys hiding in a quiet corner of the floor at Toy Fair this year. The property has grown quite a bit in the past few years. For one, it's no longer a "project" but an actual shipping product. And in the last year founder Ayah Bdeir has turned it from a great concept into an actual company with serious investors. For those of you unfamiliar with littleBits, the goal is to do for electronics what LEGO did for structural engineering. The small color coded "blocks" snap together with magnets allowing even a novice to create a functioning circuit in seconds. The magnets will only connect in one orientation, preventing you from pushing current through a component in the wrong direction and ruining it. Ayah's inspiration is not just LEGO, but object oriented programing languages that simplify building code, allowing developers to focus on the more creative aspects of software making. By doing some of the heavy logical lifting for you, littleBits hopes that potential electrical engineers and prototypers can focus on the goal rather than the minutia of laying out a breadboard or soldering resistors in place.
The latest version of the platform, v0.3, debuted just a couple of months ago and not only brings new pieces to the littleBits universe, but also adds legs to the blocks for improved stability when piecing together your projects. Currently there are four kits available: the three piece Teaser kit for $29, the seven piece Holiday kit for $49, the 10 piece Starter kit for $89 and the 14 piece Extended kit for $149. (You can also buy individual Bits for between $10 and $35.) If you're in need of inspiration there are a number of projects for you peruse on the site and the company is even considering packaging them up as pre-planned kits. Though, unlike other electronics project bundles (such as the ubiquitous BrushBot), the magnetic pieces can easily be disassembled and re-purposed if you tire of your creation. While the concept has its roots in brands like Snap Circuits, littleBits definitely provides more freedom than those single purpose offerings. For more, check out the video after the break.
NEWPORT, R.I. (AP) ? Travel eased and life slowly returned to normal for most New Englanders after a massive blizzard, but many remained without power in cold and darkened homes and a forecast of rain brought a new worry: Weight piling up dangerously on roofs already burdened by heavy snow.
The storm that slammed into the region with up to 3 feet of snow was blamed for at least 15 deaths in the Northeast and Canada, and brought some of the highest accumulations ever recorded. Still, coastal areas were largely spared catastrophic damage despite being lashed by strong waves and hurricane-force wind gusts at the height of the storm.
Hundreds of people, their homes without heat or electricity, were forced to take refuge in emergency shelters set up in schools or other places.
"For all the complaining everyone does, people really came through," said Rich Dinsmore, 65, of Newport, R.I., who was staying at a Red Cross shelter set up in a middle school in Middletown after the power went out in his home on Friday.
Dinsmore, who has emphysema, was first brought by ambulance to a hospital after the medical equipment he relies on failed when the power went out and he had difficulty breathing.
"The police, the fire department, the state, the Red Cross, the volunteers, it really worked well," said the retired radio broadcaster and Army veteran.
Utility crews, some brought in from as far away as Georgia, Oklahoma and Quebec, raced to restore power to more than 220,000 customers ? down from 650,000 in eight states at the height of the storm. In hardest-hit Massachusetts, where some 180,000 customers remained without power on Sunday, officials said some of the outages might linger until Tuesday.
Driving bans were lifted and flights resumed at major airports in the region that had closed during the storm, though many flights were still canceled Sunday.
The Boston-area public transportation system, which shut down on Friday afternoon, partially resumed subway service and some bus routes on Sunday. Beverly Scott, general manager of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, said full service was expected on Monday ? albeit with delays.
"Give yourself more time and expect that it is going to take us more time," Scott advised riders.
Boston public schools were among many in the region that had already decided to cancel classes on Monday.
Boston recorded 24.9 inches of snow, making it the fifth-largest storm in the city since records were kept. The city was appealing to the state and private contractors for more front-end loaders and other heavy equipment to clear snow piles that were clogging residential streets.
On eastern Long Island, which was slammed with as much as 30 inches of snow, hundreds of snowplows and other heavy equipment were sent in Sunday to clear ice- and drift-covered highways where hundreds of people and cars were abandoned during the height of the storm.
More than a third of all the state's snow-removal equipment was sent to the area, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said, including more than 400 plow trucks and more than 100 snow blowers, loaders and backhoes.
Highway crews spent Sunday digging out a snow-covered 27-mile stretch of the Long Island Expressway that was closed in both directions on eastern Long Island. The work was still going on late Sunday and it was unclear when it would reopen.
The National Weather Service was forecasting rain and warmer temperatures in the region on Monday ? which could begin melting some snow but also add considerable weight to snow already piled on roofs, posing the danger of collapse. Of greatest concern were flat or gently-sloped roofs and officials said people should try to clear them ? but only if they could do so safely.
"We don't recommend that people, unless they're young and experienced, go up on roofs," said Peter Judge, spokesman for the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency.
In Middlefield, Conn., two cows were killed when the roof of a barn gave way under the weight of heavy snow ? one of two such incidents in the state that prompted agriculture officials to issue an advisory to farmers.
Officials also continued to warn of carbon monoxide dangers in the wake of the storm.
In Boston, two people died Saturday after being overcome by carbon monoxide while sitting in running cars, including a teenager who went into the family car to stay warm while his father shoveled snow. The boy's name was not made public. In a third incident, two children were hospitalized but expected to recover. In Webster, a 60-year-old off-duty member of the Worcester Fire Department died Saturday after suffering a heart attack while clearing snow at his home.
A fire department spokesman said in each case, the tailpipes of the cars were clogged by snow.
Authorities also reminded homeowners to clear snow from heating vents to prevent carbon monoxide from seeping back into houses.
In Maine, the Penobscot County Sheriff's office said it recovered the body of a 75-year-old man who died after the pickup he was driving struck a tree and plunged into the Penobscot River during the storm. Investigators said Gerald Crommett apparently became disoriented while driving in the blinding snow.
Christopher Mahood, 23, of Germantown, N.Y., died after his tractor went off his driveway while he was plowing snow Friday night and rolled down a 15-foot embankment.
In Massachusetts, eight teams were formed to assess damage from flooding along the state's coastline, with the hardest hit-areas including historic Plymouth and portions of Cape Cod.
"Considering the severity of the storm, the amount of snow and the wind, we've come through this pretty well," Gov. Deval Patrick told CBS's Face The Nation after meeting with local officials in Plymouth.
The U.S. Postal Service said that mail delivery that was suspended in the six New England states, as well as parts of New York and New Jersey, because of the snowstorm would resume Monday, where it is safe to do so.
Utility companies also reported steady progress in restoring power to customers.
In Massachusetts, some 180,000 customers remained without power on Sunday ? down from 400,000 at the height of the blizzard, the vast majority in the southeastern part of the state. Rhode Island reported about 34,000 outages Sunday, down from 185,000. Connecticut still had about 4,700 without power, while in New York, about 500 remained without power.
Newport resident Christine Carreiro, who spent time at a shelter with her 2-year-old son, who suffers from asthma and needs treatment from an electrically powered nebulizer, said she was thankful for the effort by line workers.
"Whoever was fixing the power lines left their families to help us," she said. "I'm very grateful.
__
Salsberg reported from Wayland, Mass. Associated Press writers Stephen Singer in Manchester, Conn., and David Sharp in Portland, Maine, contributed to this report.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Jack Lew, President Barack Obama's pick to be U.S. treasury secretary, is expected to come under fire for the administration's budget policies and a nearly $1 million bonus he received from bailed-out bank Citigroup when he testifies on Wednesday before a Senate panel vetting him for the job.
The hearing will briefly become ground zero in the pitched political battle over the federal budget, with Republicans set to attack over what they contend is Lew's devil-may-care attitude to reducing the U.S. budget deficit.
Republicans have signaled that Lew, Obama's former chief of staff and budget director, will be critiqued for his role in preparing proposals that piled on deficits and probed on the president's plans to put government-run healthcare and retirement programs on sounder footing.
"He'll be used as a political ping-pong ball," said Ted Truman, a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics who served briefly as an adviser to Obama's former treasury secretary, Timothy Geithner. Geithner left the administration in January.
Lew was the administration's point person during budget talks in 2011 that ended with a deal to raise the nation's debt ceiling, cap discretionary spending and put in place $1.2 trillion in automatic budget cuts over 10 years.
During those negotiations, his hard-line position in defense of government-run benefit programs angered Republicans.
Most Republicans, however, have said they will reserve judgment on Lew until after Wednesday's hearing, and he is widely expected to win the Senate's needed backing even if he ends up facing substantial opposition.
Republican lawmakers are expected to push Lew on his earlier resistance to proposed changes to the Medicare healthcare and Social Security retirement programs, such as using an slower growing inflation index to calculate retirement benefits.
"We need a better understanding ... of what kind of plan the Obama administration has to confront our skyrocketing debt and our broken entitlement programs," said Senator Orrin Hatch, the top Republican on the finance panel.
Realistically, it does not appear Lew could win confirmation earlier than February 25. After the hearing, the former budget chief will need time to respond to any additional questions senators may have and Congress begins a one week break on Friday.
That means the Senate would not be able to confirm Lew in time for him to attend a meeting of finance chiefs from the Group of 20 nations in Moscow on Friday and Saturday.
CITIGROUP AND THE CAYMAN ISLANDS
At the hearing, Republicans plan to zero in on Lew's short stint at Citigroup. Lew, who has publicly said that he has scant expertise in financial markets, spent two years at the bank during Wall Street's meltdown, earning a combined $2.65 million in 2007 and 2008, according to a transcript of his confirmation hearing in 2009 for a State Department post.
Hired with a recommendation from then-Citi executive and former Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin, Lew became chief operating officer of Citigroup's global wealth management division in July 2006. He later became COO for Citi Alternative Investments, a largely administrative role that was apart from investment decisions that hurt the bank.
Republican Senator Charles Grassley said he will ask Lew about a $940,000 bonus he was given just before the bank received a taxpayer-funded bailout. The bonus came as Lew was getting ready to serve as a State Department deputy for the Obama administration.
"The Treasury secretary can't owe anyone on Wall Street any favors," Grassley, a member of the Finance Committee, said in an emailed statement. "He has to be independent from special interests and put taxpayers first."
Lew's record at Citigroup came up during his confirmation hearing for the State Department position, but it failed to prove a stumbling block.
"This is not his first rodeo," said Jared Bernstein, a former adviser to Vice President Joe Biden who is now with the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. "It just doesn't seem to me that there's a smoking gun there."
Republicans also want to ask Lew about a $56,000 investment he once had in a Citigroup venture capital fund registered in the Cayman Islands. Lew lost $1,582 when he had to divest his position in the fund to serve as Obama's budget chief.
The CVCI Growth Partnership II fund's registered office is listed as the Ugland House, according to a securities filing, a Cayman Island office building with thousands of companies registered that has become a symbol of offshore tax evasion. Ugland House was criticized by Obama when he was campaigning for president.
The White House said Lew's investment was disclosed during both his confirmation for the State Department post and for White House budget director.
"(Lew) played no role in creating, managing or operating the fund and he sold his investment in 2010 at a net loss," said White House spokesman Eric Schultz. "There are no new facts that provide a basis for senators to reach a different conclusion about Mr. Lew's nomination than they reached twice before."
Although Democrats control the Senate 53-45, they would need at least seven Republicans to support Lew if any lawmaker decides to throw up a procedural hurdle.
Senator Jeff Sessions, the top Republican on the Budget Committee, has said Lew is not fit to become treasury secretary and has threatened to make the confirmation difficult unless the White House clears up a healthcare law dispute.
Bernie Sanders, an independent who caucuses with the Democrats, has also said he will vote against Lew.
(Reporting by Rachelle Younglai and Anna Yukhananov; Additional reporting by Roberta Rampton; Editing by Tim Ahmann and Eric Beech)
Ashlee Simpson Impersonating Gwen Stefani??[The Frisky] John Mayer Fesses Up to Jerk Status?[HollyWire] Chris Brown Violates Probation?[Right Celebrity] Shirley Bassey Slated to Perform at Oscars?[The Celebrity Cafe] Katherine Jenkins Lounges Around in Bikini?[The Blemish] Mary J. Blige in Trouble with Second Bank?[The Huffington Post] Richard Marx Slams Chris Brown?[Radar Online] Ben Stiller Talks Balancing Career ...
(NaturalNews) Women with high blood levels of the naturally occurring plant chemicals known as carotenoids have significantly lower risk of breast cancer, according to a study conducted by researchers from Brigham & Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School and published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.
It has been well-established that a diet high in fruits and vegetables significantly lowers the risk of a wide variety of cancers, as well as providing a number of other health benefits. Often, the most colorful vegetables and fruits are among the healthiest, due to the pigments that they contain.
The carotenoids are pigments that give plans deep yellow, orange or red colors. They include alpha- and beta-carotene, lycopene, lutein and zeaxanthin. Foods high in carotenoids (particularly beta-carotene, alpha-carotene, and beta-cryptoxanthin) include carrots, sweet potatoes, tomatoes, winter squash, apricots, mangoes and papayas. Despite their color, green leafy vegetables are also high in carotenoids, particularly beta-carotene and lutein - the chlorophyll in their leaves merely masks the orange color beneath. Tomatoes, guava and pink grapefruit are also high in lycopene.
The researchers conducted a meta-analysis of the data from 8 separate studies on a total of 7,000 women - consisting of 80 percent of all published data on the link between carotenoids and breast cancer. In addition, the researchers re-analyzed all the original blood samples in order to standardize measurements of carotenoid levels.
They found that women whose blood was in the top 20 percent in terms of carotenoid levels were 15 to 20 percent less likely to develop breast cancer than women whose blood was in the bottom 20 percent.
"It looks like it is a linear relationship," lead author A. Heather Eliassen said. "The higher you go, the [lower] your risk is. There is some benefit at a moderate level of carotenoids and there is even more benefit at a higher level."
The link between higher blood levels and lower cancer risk was highest for cancers classified as estrogen-receptor-negative, which are among the most aggressive, lethal and hard-to-treat breast cancers.
Turn to natural sources, not supplements
The reason for the connection was unclear, but the researchers believe that the body may metabolize carotenoids into retinol, which plays an important role in gene expression and cell growth, and may also hamper tumor growth. Carotenoids may also help cells communicate with each other, and may boost the immune system's ability to fight tumors on its own.
Eliassen warned that the best way to increase carotenoid levels in the blood is through food, not supplements.
"We are not at a point to recommend supplements," she said. "We know from other studies that certain supplements can increase the risk of lung cancer among smokers. We are not going to go in that direction clearly, but increasing fruit and vegetable intake clearly can provide lots of health benefits and may also reduce the risk of breast cancer."
Because carotenoids are fat-soluble, they should ideally be consumed in meals with at least a small amount of fat, such as an olive-oil-based salad dressing.
Sources for this article include:http://www.emaxhealth.com
Yahoo! News is gathering brief first-person accounts, photos and video from the severe winter weather in the northeastern United States. Here's one resident's story.
FIRST PERSON |Snow began falling early morning in mid-coastal Maine. The temperatures were frigid outside and down to around 5 degrees. Winds were whipping, and the roads had just started to disappear with a blanket of about two inches of snow on the ground. Our town's road crew had its plows on and was already out clearing the roads locally. I am sure these few inches that had begun to fall were an instant reminder that the blizzard was just knocking at our door.
For my family, preparations were already beginning for the nor'easter predicted to hit today and into Saturday, with 12 to 20 inches of snow for our area.
We left our house early, so we fared well at the gas pumps with only a few others taking their turn getting gas. We took our gas cans as we would need the gas for the generator if we have power outages. We got enough extra for our snow blower that undoubtedly will get a good work out. We stopped at the grocery store on the way home, so that I could get all the essentials we need, e.g.,, batteries, water, milk, eggs, coffee, oh-- and chocolate! The parking lot was full, and we barely had a place to park -- but I got in and out with no major issues with everything I needed to weather the storm.
With all the blizzard warnings and dismal reports about the storm that was heading our way, I cannot help but mention the beauty of nature that surrounds a storm here in Maine. Yes, we Mainers are resourceful people. A snowstorm to us means a day off from work, a ride on a snowmobile, snow shoeing on trails, time to sit by the wood stove with the family and reflect about the week ahead, fully knowing we will overcome this storm and fair well.
Contact: Charles Casey charles.casey@ucdmc.ucdavis.edu 916-734-9048 University of California - Davis Health System
Jacob Rutt is a bright 11-year-old who likes to draw detailed maps in his spare time. But the budding geographer has a hard time with physical skills most children take for granted -- running and climbing trees are beyond him, and even walking can be difficult. He was diagnosed with a form of muscular dystrophy known as Duchenne when he was two years old.
The disease affects about 1 in 3,500 newborns -- mostly boys -- worldwide. It usually becomes apparent in early childhood, as weakened skeletal muscles cause delays in milestones such as sitting and walking. Children usually become wheelchair-dependent during their teens. As heart muscle is increasingly affected, the disease becomes life threatening and many patients die from heart failure in their 20s.
Today, Jacob is one of 51 children participating in a nationwide clinical trial for a new type treatment that could offer help to those suffering from devastating neuromuscular disease. Clinical researchers at UC Davis Medical Center and a handful other research centers around the nation are testing a high-tech drug designed to fix the underlying genetic defect causing the progressive muscular decline that is seen in children with Duchenne.
"This type of genetic therapy is the most exciting treatment approach I have witnessed in my career for Duchenne muscular dystrophy," said Craig McDonald, professor and chair of the Department of Physical Medicine Rehabilitation at UC Davis, as well as principal investigator of the national clinical trial that Jacob is participating in. "We are hopeful that it will delay many of the disease's manifestations and ultimately improve life expectancy for patients."
Duchenne muscular dystrophy is caused by genetic mutations in the gene for the muscle protein dystrophin. The protein is a stabilizer that protects muscle fibers; without enough functional dystrophin, muscles become damaged, causing them to weaken and deteriorate over time.
Functioning a bit like a bridge over a dangerous chasm, the experimental drug known as drisapersen is designed to effectively cover over the specific genetic mutation, allowing the problem area to be skipped and causing cells to produce a slightly shorter but functional dystrophin protein.
Because Duchenne muscular dystrophy is rare and the drug addresses only a small subset of the genetic variants responsible for the disease, recruiting qualified patients was not easy. Of the medical centers involved in the study, UC Davis, with its highly regarded neuromuscular disease and physical medicine and rehabilitation expertise, enrolled the largest group of patients in the nation. For more than a year, its eight young participants, including Jacob, have been to Sacramento from as far away as Colorado, Utah and Arizona. For each participant, the clinical trial involved weekly injections, which meant Jacob had to fly from Southern California to the UC Davis clinic every Friday for 24 weeks.
"I've never seen such a complicated study in terms of logistics," said Erica Goude, who serves as the research coordinator at the UC Davis site. "We're collaborating closely with departments of pediatrics, cardiology, radiology and several others, and their outstanding commitment to the project has made our tasks much easier and more efficient. This study is an amazing team effort that I see frequently reflected in the smiles of our patients and their families."
The study also entails extensive physical testing to monitor each participant's progress over time. To assess each child's physical abilities and progress, participants complete a six-minute walking test specifically designed and validated by a UC Davis team that included McDonald and Erik Henricson, a UC Davis muscular dystrophy researcher. The six-minute test is now used worldwide in all ambulatory clinical trials for Duchenne. Investigators also measure muscle strength and the level of dystrophin in the participants' muscles the latter results obtained through muscle biopsies at several times during study. Of particular interest to the research teams are the residual effects of the drug several weeks after the injection series is completed.
Although McDonald says it is too early to draw conclusions from the current clinical trial, he suggests there is reason to be optimistic based on animal studies and evidence from another clinical trial in Europe. In that trial, patients and study investigators knew which patients were actually taking the experimental drug, meaning it was an "open" study. The current U.S. study is more rigorous because doctors and families are "blinded" about which drug regimen each participant has -- either one of two dosages of the drug or a placebo -- until the end of the study.
According to McDonald, the antisense oligonucleotide-mediated genetic therapy approach is particularly exciting because of its potential applications to most other variants of Duchenne muscular dystrophy and other genetic diseases. Although the current experimental therapy specifically addresses mutations in only one particular region of the gene, the same therapeutic concept can be applied to many others.
"If successful, this approach can be developed into specific gene therapy that represents truly personalized medicine," said McDonald. "Covering a mutation to restore a normal genetic open reading frame for protein synthesis can be a powerful approach for a variety of genetic diseases."
Standardizing the drug as a therapy for Duchenne patients still requires approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Investigators say the therapy could be similar to insulin injections for diabetes. But rather than daily injections, the Duchenne treatment might only involve weekly shots, which youngsters could learn to administer on their own.
Now that the clinical trial is closed at UC Davis to new enrollees, McDonald and his study team are completing the protocol for each participant and analyzing the resulting data. They expect results sometime in late 2013 or 2014 once all the participants around the country have completed the trial.
In the meantime, even though no one knows whether Jacob received the genetic therapy drug or a placebo, his family is feeling good about being in a clinical trial. According to Jacob's dad, Timothy Rutt, the family even hopes to use some of its new frequent flyer miles for upcoming vacations.
"Jake really enjoyed being part of the study,'" said the elder Rutt, who, as the editor of an online news publication called altadenablog.com, has written about his son's participation. "We were proud that he showed a great deal of courage throughout the trial and understood its importance to kids like him."
###
UC Davis Health System is improving lives and transforming health care by providing excellent patient care, conducting groundbreaking research, fostering innovative, interprofessional education, and creating dynamic, productive partnerships with the community. The academic health system includes one of the country's best medical schools, a 619-bed acute-care teaching hospital, a 1000-member physician's practice group and the new Betty Irene Moore School of Nursing. It is home to a National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer center, an international neurodevelopmental institute, a stem cell institute and a comprehensive children's hospital. Other nationally prominent centers focus on advancing telemedicine, improving vascular care, eliminating health disparities and translating research findings into new treatments for patients. Together, they make UC Davis a hub of innovation that is transforming health for all. For more information, visit healthsystem.ucdavis.edu.
[ | 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.
Contact: Charles Casey charles.casey@ucdmc.ucdavis.edu 916-734-9048 University of California - Davis Health System
Jacob Rutt is a bright 11-year-old who likes to draw detailed maps in his spare time. But the budding geographer has a hard time with physical skills most children take for granted -- running and climbing trees are beyond him, and even walking can be difficult. He was diagnosed with a form of muscular dystrophy known as Duchenne when he was two years old.
The disease affects about 1 in 3,500 newborns -- mostly boys -- worldwide. It usually becomes apparent in early childhood, as weakened skeletal muscles cause delays in milestones such as sitting and walking. Children usually become wheelchair-dependent during their teens. As heart muscle is increasingly affected, the disease becomes life threatening and many patients die from heart failure in their 20s.
Today, Jacob is one of 51 children participating in a nationwide clinical trial for a new type treatment that could offer help to those suffering from devastating neuromuscular disease. Clinical researchers at UC Davis Medical Center and a handful other research centers around the nation are testing a high-tech drug designed to fix the underlying genetic defect causing the progressive muscular decline that is seen in children with Duchenne.
"This type of genetic therapy is the most exciting treatment approach I have witnessed in my career for Duchenne muscular dystrophy," said Craig McDonald, professor and chair of the Department of Physical Medicine Rehabilitation at UC Davis, as well as principal investigator of the national clinical trial that Jacob is participating in. "We are hopeful that it will delay many of the disease's manifestations and ultimately improve life expectancy for patients."
Duchenne muscular dystrophy is caused by genetic mutations in the gene for the muscle protein dystrophin. The protein is a stabilizer that protects muscle fibers; without enough functional dystrophin, muscles become damaged, causing them to weaken and deteriorate over time.
Functioning a bit like a bridge over a dangerous chasm, the experimental drug known as drisapersen is designed to effectively cover over the specific genetic mutation, allowing the problem area to be skipped and causing cells to produce a slightly shorter but functional dystrophin protein.
Because Duchenne muscular dystrophy is rare and the drug addresses only a small subset of the genetic variants responsible for the disease, recruiting qualified patients was not easy. Of the medical centers involved in the study, UC Davis, with its highly regarded neuromuscular disease and physical medicine and rehabilitation expertise, enrolled the largest group of patients in the nation. For more than a year, its eight young participants, including Jacob, have been to Sacramento from as far away as Colorado, Utah and Arizona. For each participant, the clinical trial involved weekly injections, which meant Jacob had to fly from Southern California to the UC Davis clinic every Friday for 24 weeks.
"I've never seen such a complicated study in terms of logistics," said Erica Goude, who serves as the research coordinator at the UC Davis site. "We're collaborating closely with departments of pediatrics, cardiology, radiology and several others, and their outstanding commitment to the project has made our tasks much easier and more efficient. This study is an amazing team effort that I see frequently reflected in the smiles of our patients and their families."
The study also entails extensive physical testing to monitor each participant's progress over time. To assess each child's physical abilities and progress, participants complete a six-minute walking test specifically designed and validated by a UC Davis team that included McDonald and Erik Henricson, a UC Davis muscular dystrophy researcher. The six-minute test is now used worldwide in all ambulatory clinical trials for Duchenne. Investigators also measure muscle strength and the level of dystrophin in the participants' muscles the latter results obtained through muscle biopsies at several times during study. Of particular interest to the research teams are the residual effects of the drug several weeks after the injection series is completed.
Although McDonald says it is too early to draw conclusions from the current clinical trial, he suggests there is reason to be optimistic based on animal studies and evidence from another clinical trial in Europe. In that trial, patients and study investigators knew which patients were actually taking the experimental drug, meaning it was an "open" study. The current U.S. study is more rigorous because doctors and families are "blinded" about which drug regimen each participant has -- either one of two dosages of the drug or a placebo -- until the end of the study.
According to McDonald, the antisense oligonucleotide-mediated genetic therapy approach is particularly exciting because of its potential applications to most other variants of Duchenne muscular dystrophy and other genetic diseases. Although the current experimental therapy specifically addresses mutations in only one particular region of the gene, the same therapeutic concept can be applied to many others.
"If successful, this approach can be developed into specific gene therapy that represents truly personalized medicine," said McDonald. "Covering a mutation to restore a normal genetic open reading frame for protein synthesis can be a powerful approach for a variety of genetic diseases."
Standardizing the drug as a therapy for Duchenne patients still requires approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Investigators say the therapy could be similar to insulin injections for diabetes. But rather than daily injections, the Duchenne treatment might only involve weekly shots, which youngsters could learn to administer on their own.
Now that the clinical trial is closed at UC Davis to new enrollees, McDonald and his study team are completing the protocol for each participant and analyzing the resulting data. They expect results sometime in late 2013 or 2014 once all the participants around the country have completed the trial.
In the meantime, even though no one knows whether Jacob received the genetic therapy drug or a placebo, his family is feeling good about being in a clinical trial. According to Jacob's dad, Timothy Rutt, the family even hopes to use some of its new frequent flyer miles for upcoming vacations.
"Jake really enjoyed being part of the study,'" said the elder Rutt, who, as the editor of an online news publication called altadenablog.com, has written about his son's participation. "We were proud that he showed a great deal of courage throughout the trial and understood its importance to kids like him."
###
UC Davis Health System is improving lives and transforming health care by providing excellent patient care, conducting groundbreaking research, fostering innovative, interprofessional education, and creating dynamic, productive partnerships with the community. The academic health system includes one of the country's best medical schools, a 619-bed acute-care teaching hospital, a 1000-member physician's practice group and the new Betty Irene Moore School of Nursing. It is home to a National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer center, an international neurodevelopmental institute, a stem cell institute and a comprehensive children's hospital. Other nationally prominent centers focus on advancing telemedicine, improving vascular care, eliminating health disparities and translating research findings into new treatments for patients. Together, they make UC Davis a hub of innovation that is transforming health for all. For more information, visit healthsystem.ucdavis.edu.
[ | 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.
March usually means bro-tastic bar crawls for St. Patrick?s Day and us avoiding anything to do with the intersection of 2nd and Chestnut. But fear not, ?cause March is going to be awesome in Northern Liberties this year with Northern Exposure. Starting March 1st , you can pick up a ?passport? and drink over a 100 different beers at NINE different bars. With each beer, you get a stamp. More stamps mean more prizes! The festival runs from March 1st to March 31st.
Chrome: Astrid is your favorite to-do list manager, and now it integrates with your favorite email service. The Astrid Chrome extension now brings your to-dos into Gmail, and makes it simple to add any email as a to-do item on your list, or just manage your to-dos without ever leaving Gmail's interface. 
Additionally, the extension adds a button to the Gmail toolbar you'll see when viewing an email labeled "Remind Me," which effectively turns that email into an item on your to-do list. This way if your boss emails you asking for an update by Friday, or your spouse asks you to pick up some bread on the way home, one click turns that email into an item on your to-do list, with the subject of the email as the text of the to-do. You can grab the extension at the link below, or head over to the Astrid blog to read more.
Ashlee Simpson Impersonating Gwen Stefani??[The Frisky] John Mayer Fesses Up to Jerk Status?[HollyWire] Chris Brown Violates Probation?[Right Celebrity] Shirley Bassey Slated to Perform at Oscars?[The Celebrity Cafe] Katherine Jenkins Lounges Around in Bikini?[The Blemish] Mary J. Blige in Trouble with Second Bank?[The Huffington Post] Richard Marx Slams Chris Brown?[Radar Online] Ben Stiller Talks Balancing Career ...
![[ Back to EurekAlert! ]](http://www.eurekalert.org/images/back2e.gif){kind=small}
Public release date: 7-Feb-2013
Share ]