June 21, 2013 ? A new study by a team of researchers from the University of Notre Dame provides an important new insight into how cancer cells are able to avoid the cell death process. The findings may suggest a chemotherapeutic approach to prevent the spread of cancers.
Metastasis, the spread of cancer from one organ to other parts of the body, relies on cancer cells ability to evade a cell death process called anoikis, according to Zachary T. Schafer, Coleman Assistant Professor of Cancer Biology at Notre Dame. Metalizing cancer cells are able to survive anoikis, which normally results from detachment from the extracellular matrix. However, Schafer notes that the molecular mechanisms cancer cells detached from the extracellular matrix use to survive has not been well understood.
"This paper reveals that cancer cells that are detached from their normal environment, as they would be during metastasis, relay on the activity of antioxidant enzymes to facilitate their survival," Schafer said. "This class of enzymes is critical for neutralizing oxidative stress and function much like the compounds that are present in a variety of foods."
The paper describes a prominent role for antioxidant enzymes in facilitating the survival of breast cancer cells after detachment from the extracellular matrix. Conversely, the researchers report, silencing antioxidant enzyme expression reduced tumor formation.
"The results in this paper suggest that targeting antioxidant enzymes with novel therapeutics may selectively kill off metastasizing cancer cells," Schafer said.
The paper appears in the journal Cancer Research, which is the most frequently cited cancer journal in the world.
The researchers collaborated with Matthew Leevy in Notre Dame's in vivo imaging facility.
Other authors of the paper include doctoral student Calli Davison, rising junior Sienna Durbin, 2011 alum Matthew Thau, graduate student Victoria Zellmer, and Sarah Chapman, Justin Diner and Connor Wathen from the Notre Dame Integrated Imaging Facility.
Wildfire smoke masks the sun as it sets over a ridge Saturday, June 22, 2013, near South Fork, Colo. A massive wildfire threatening a tourist region in southwestern Colorado has grown to nearly 60 square miles, but officials said Saturday that the erratic blaze had slowed and they were optimistic they could protect the town of South Fork. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)
Wildfire smoke masks the sun as it sets over a ridge Saturday, June 22, 2013, near South Fork, Colo. A massive wildfire threatening a tourist region in southwestern Colorado has grown to nearly 60 square miles, but officials said Saturday that the erratic blaze had slowed and they were optimistic they could protect the town of South Fork. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)
Two horses graze on a ridge as smoke from area fires fills the sky Saturday, June 22, 2013, near Monte Vista, Colo. Fire crews with tankers and hoses at the ready stood guard Friday night as a massive and fast-burning wildfire threatened a popular mountain tourist enclave in southwestern Colorado, forcing the evacuation of more than 400 people. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)
Firefighters from the San Juan Hotshots based in Durango, Colo, clear brush from around structures Saturday, June 22, 2013, in South Fork, Colo. Fire crews with tankers and hoses at the ready stood guard Friday night as a massive and fast-burning wildfire threatened a popular mountain tourist enclave in southwestern Colorado, forcing the evacuation of more than 400 people. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)
Firefighters from the San Juan Hotshots based in Durango, Colo, clear brush from around structures Saturday, June 22, 2013, in South Fork, Colo. Fire crews with tankers and hoses stood guard Friday night as a massive and fast-burning wildfire threatened a popular mountain tourist enclave in southwestern Colorado, forcing the evacuation of more than 400 people. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)
Firefighter Cole Ingram, of the San Juan Hotshots based in Durango, Colo, walks with a chainsaw as his crew clears brush from around structures Saturday, June 22, 2013, in South Fork, Colo. Fire crews with tankers and hoses stood guard Friday night as a massive and fast-burning wildfire threatened a popular mountain tourist enclave in southwestern Colorado, forcing the evacuation of more than 400 people. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)
DEL NORTE, Colo. (AP) ? A wildfire threatening a tourist region in southwestern Colorado mushroomed to about 100 square miles Saturday, but officials said that they remained optimistic they could protect the town of South Fork.
The rapid advance of the erratic blaze prompted the evacuation of hundreds of summer visitors and the town's 400 permanent residents Friday, and it could be days before people are allowed back into their homes, cabins and RV parks, fire crew spokeswoman Laura McConnell said. South Fork Mayor Kenneth Brooke estimated that 1,000 to 1,500 people were forced to flee.
Saturday night, officials provided an estimate of the size of the wildfire burning through a rugged and remote mountainous region, but said they wouldn't have a better idea of its size until infrared imaging is done overnight.
Some business owners were being allowed back into South Fork during the day Saturday to tie up issues left unattended in the rush to leave.
Officials, meanwhile, closely monitored an arm of the blaze moving toward the neighboring town of Creede.
"We were very, very lucky," said Rio Grande County Commissioner Carla Shriver. "We got a free pass yesterday."
McConnell said no structures had been lost and the fire was still about 5 miles from the town.
The blaze had been fueled by dry, hot, windy weather and a stand of dead trees, killed by a beetle infestation. The fire's spread had slowed for a while Saturday morning after the flames hit a healthy section of forest. Fire crews remained alert as more hot, dry and windy weather was forecast.
The wildfire, a complex of three blazes, remains a danger, officials said.
"The fire is very unpredictable," Shriver told evacuees at Del Norte High School, east of the fire. "They are saying they haven't quite seen one like this in years. There is so much fuel up there."
Winds picked up Saturday afternoon and a heavy black again permeated the air in Del Norte, where a Red Cross shelter was set up for evacuees. Anticipating the mandatory South Fork evacuation would last for days, the Red Cross promised more supplies and portable showers.
Ralph and Leilani Harden of Victoria, Texas, spend summers in South Fork.
"We jumped out of the South Texas hot box into the Colorado frying pan," Ralph Harden said.
Bob and Sherry Mason bought the Wolf Creek Ski Lodge on the Western Edge of South Fork about a year and a half ago.
"This (wildfire) was in our contingency plan being in Colorado, but we didn't expect it this soon," Bob Mason said.
New fire crews, meanwhile, descended from other areas to join more than 32 fire engines stationed around South Fork, with hoses and tankers at the ready. Firefighters also worked to move potential fuel, such as lawn furniture, propane tanks and wood piles, away from homes and buildings.
The town of Creede's 300 residents were under voluntary evacuation orders as officials feared the fire could reach the roads leading out of town.
The heavy black smoke, broken up only by an orange glow over the outlines of the San Juan mountains, was so thick Friday that the plume helped keep an 18-square-mile wildfire burning 100 miles to the east near Walsenburg from spreading as fast as it would have otherwise.
Susan Valente, an on-site spokeswoman for the fire near Walsenburg, said the shade helped keep the forest from drying out in the hot afternoon sun. Residents from 300 homes remain evacuated while in the city of Walsenburg and the town of Aguilar remain on pre-evacuation notice, meaning residents must be ready to flee at a moment's notice.
"Fire conditions are prime with the combination of fuels, heat, winds and low humidity," fire information officer Mike Stearly of the Rocky Mountain Area Coordination Center, "It's expected to be like this through next Tuesday."
There are 12 wildfires burning in Colorado that have scorched 133 square miles, which includes the Black Forest fire that destroyed 511 homes north of Colorado Springs and is the most destructive in Colorado history.
Thabiso Boya, adds his get-well message on a poster for former South African President Nelson Mandela, at the Education Expo in Johannesburg, South Africa Thursday, June 20, 2013. Mandela remains in the hospital for the 13th day. The 94-year-old was hospitalized for a recurring lung infection. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe)
Thabiso Boya, adds his get-well message on a poster for former South African President Nelson Mandela, at the Education Expo in Johannesburg, South Africa Thursday, June 20, 2013. Mandela remains in the hospital for the 13th day. The 94-year-old was hospitalized for a recurring lung infection. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe)
Daughter Zenani Dlamini-Mandela, left, with granddaughters Swati Dlamini, second right, and Zaziwe Dlamini-Manaway, right, and an unidentified family member arrive at the Mediclinic Heart Hospital where former South African President Nelson Mandela is being treated in Pretoria, South Africa Wednesday, June 19, 2013. Mandela remains in the hospital for a ninth day. The 94-year-old was hospitalized for a recurring lung infection. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe)
Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, the former wife of Nelson Mandela, leaves after visiting the Mediclinic Heart Hospital where former South African President Nelson Mandela is being treated in Pretoria, South Africa Tuesday, June 18, 2013. Well-wishers continued to send messages of love and support to Nelson Mandela, as he remained in hospital in a serious condition with a lung infection. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe)
Women from Alpha World Social Center in Soweto, sing, as they hold flowers to lay them outside the Mediclinic Heart Hospital where former South African President Nelson Mandela is being treated in Pretoria, South Africa Tuesday, June 18, 2013. Well-wishers continued to send messages of love and support to Nelson Mandela, as he remained in hospital in a serious condition with a lung infection. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe)
JOHANNESBURG (AP) ? An ambulance carrying Nelson Mandela to a hospital two weeks ago had engine trouble, so the 94-year-old was transferred to another ambulance for his journey to the hospital, the South African government said Saturday.
Care was taken to ensure the condition of the former president was not affected, it said.
The anti-apartheid leader remains in serious but stable condition in a hospital, according to the office of President Jacob Zuma.
The government confirmed reports about transport problems when the former leader was taken to the hospital for what officials have said is a recurring lung infection. CBS News reported that Mandela had to be transferred in wintertime temperatures to another ambulance in the early morning of June 8 after waiting on the side of the highway for 40 minutes.
The government said in a statement that doctors are satisfied that the Nobel Peace Prize laureate suffered "no harm" at the time.
Mandela was taken from his home in the Johannesburg neighborhood of Houghton to a hospital in Pretoria, the capital, about 50 kilometers (31 miles) away.
"The fully equipped military ICU ambulance had a full complement of specialist medical staff including intensive care specialists and ICU nurses. The convoy also included two quick response vehicles," the presidency said. "When the ambulance experienced engine problems it was decided that it would be best to transfer to another military ambulance which itself was accompanied for the rest of the journey by a civilian ambulance."
The statement added: "All care was taken to ensure that the former president Mandela's medical condition was not compromised by the unforeseen incident."
In recent days, reports from the government, former President Thabo Mbeki and a grandson of Mandela have indicated that the health of Mandela is improving, although he has been in the hospital for treatment several times in recent months.
Close family members have been visiting him daily in a Pretoria hospital amid an outpouring of prayers and messages of support from South Africans and people around the world.
Zuma's office appealed for Mandela's privacy to be respected "and that he be accorded the doctor-patient confidentiality that all patients are entitled to in terms of medical ethics."
On April 29, state television broadcast footage of a visit by Zuma and other leaders of the ruling African National Congress to Mandela's home. Zuma said at the time that Mandela was in good shape, but the footage - the first public images of Mandela in nearly a year - showed him silent and unresponsive, even when Zuma tried to hold his hand.
In a statement Saturday, the ANC said the presidential reports on Mandela's condition have ensured that "we are all kept up-to-date and knowledgeable about his condition" within the limits of privacy and medical confidentiality.
"The African National Congress once again calls upon all concerned parties including the media to afford President Mandela and his family respect and privacy during this difficult time," the statement said.
Mandela was jailed for 27 years under white racist rule and was released in 1990. He then played a leading role in steering the divided country from the apartheid era to democracy, becoming South Africa's first black president in all-race elections in 1994. As a result of his sacrifice and peacemaking efforts, he is seen by many around the world as a symbol of reconciliation.
LOS ANGELES (AP) ? Michael Jackson's inability to learn new dance moves and remember the lyrics to his songs were symptoms that the singer was totally sleep deprived by the time of his death, a sleep expert told a jury Friday.
Charles Czeisler said reports by workers on Jackson's ill-fated comeback concerts that the entertainer was losing weight, exhibiting signs of paranoia and his condition seemed to be deteriorating were consistent with someone who hadn't gotten any real sleep in a long time.
The sleep deprivation was likely caused by Jackson's use of the anesthetic propofol, which Czeisler said would put the singer in a drug-induced coma and not meet his body's need for actual sleep. Studies showed that similar levels of sleep deprivation resulted in the deaths of laboratory animals and would likely cause the death of a human, he said.
The extreme nature of Jackson's sleep deprivation would have shortened the singer's life unless he received appropriate treatment, Czeisler said. With proper treatment, Jackson could have continued to tour and perform for many years, he testified.
Czeisler relied heavily on summaries of testimony provided by a plaintiff's lawyer and emails from choreographers and others working on Jackson's "This Is It" tour to form his opinion. The testimony detailed Jackson's missed rehearsals and reports that he was picking up dance moves slowly, as well as that he requested a teleprompter to display lyrics to his songs.
"The meticulous detailing of his deterioration here was both profound and sad," Czeisler said.
The Harvard professor and sleep researcher is testifying as a sleep expert in a lawsuit filed by the singer's mother against concert promoter AEG Live LLC.
On cross-examination by AEG defense attorney Kathryn Cahan, the researcher acknowledged that he hadn't reviewed actual testimony from the case, including statements from AEG executives that they thought the singer appeared fine and had stellar rehearsals before his death.
Czeisler, who is being paid $950 an hour for his work on the case, said he reached his opinion after reviewing deposition transcripts, medical records and other evidence shown to jurors during Katherine Jackson's eight-week trial against AEG.
A lawyer for Katherine Jackson summarized the evidence used to form the basis for Czeisler's opinion in a 17-minute, 1,833 word question that caused the trial to grind to a halt on Thursday afternoon and Friday morning.
Michael Koskoff's inquiry was posed as a hypothetical question to Czeisler that included a summary of testimony, passages of emails already shown to jurors and other evidence presented during trial.
A judge said the question contained details that are inadmissible in the trial and misstated several other details. Superior Court Yvette Palazuelos opted not to strike the question from the record but allowed Koskoff to clarify it. That process took another 19 minutes on Friday.
Attorneys spent roughly an hour arguing over the structure of the lengthy question, leaving jurors waiting for nearly 30 minutes on Friday.
Czeisler earned more than $250 listening to the initial question, and more than $300 listening to Koskoff clarify it. Czeisler is a Harvard-educated sleep expert who has consulted on sleep issues for sports teams, the Rolling Stones, ex-NBA player Shaquille O'Neal and government agencies such as the CIA and U.S. Marshals Service.
In all, he estimated that he had spent 120 hours on the case, which would earn him $114,000.
Katherine Jackson's negligent hiring suit claims AEG Live is responsible for her son's death because it failed to properly investigate Conrad Murray, who was convicted of giving Jackson a fatal dose of propofol, and missed warning signs about his health.
AEG denies it hired Murray or could have known that the former cardiologist was giving Jackson propofol as a sleep aid.
___
Anthony McCartney can be reached at http://twitter.com/mccartneyAP
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June 21, 2013 ? Scientists from the Florida campus of The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) have shown in animal models that brain damage caused by the loss of a single copy of a gene during very early childhood development can cause a lifetime of behavioral and intellectual problems.
The study, published this week in the Journal of Neuroscience, sheds new light on the early development of neural circuits in the cortex, the part of the brain responsible for functions such as sensory perception, planning and decision-making.
The research also pinpoints the mechanism responsible for the disruption of what are known as "windows of plasticity" that contribute to the refinement of the neural connections that broadly shape brain development and the maturing of perception, language, and cognitive abilities.
The key to normal development of these abilities is that the neural connections in the brain cortex -- the synapses -- mature at the right time.
In an earlier study, the team, led by TSRI Associate Professor Gavin Rumbaugh, found that in mice missing a single copy of the vital gene, certain synapses develop prematurely within the first few weeks after birth. This accelerated maturation dramatically expands the process known as "excitability" -- how often brain cells fire -- in the hippocampus, a part of the brain critical for memory. The delicate balance between excitability and inhibition is especially critical during early developmental periods. However, it remained a mystery how early maturation of brain circuits could lead to lifelong cognitive and behavioral problems.
The current study shows in mice that the interruption of the synapse-regulating gene known as SYNGAP1 -- which can cause a devastating form of intellectual disability and increase the risk for developing autism in humans -- induces early functional maturation of neural connections in two areas of the cortex. The influence of this disruption is widespread throughout the developing brain and appears to degrade the duration of these critical windows of plasticity.
"In this study, we were able to directly connect early maturation of synapses to the loss of an important plasticity window in the cortex," Rumbaugh said. "Early maturation of synapses appears to make the brain less plastic at critical times in development. Children with these mutations appear to have brains that were built incorrectly from the ground up."
The accelerated maturation also appeared to occur surprisingly early in the developing cortex. That, Rumbaugh added, would correspond to the first two years of a child's life, when the brain is expanding rapidly. "Our goal now is to figure out a way to prevent the damage caused by SYNGAP1 mutations. We would be more likely to help that child if we could intervene very early on -- before the mutation has done its damage," he said.
This work was supported by the National Institute for Neurological Disorders and Stroke (grant R01NS064079), the National Institute for Mental Health (grant R01MH096847) and the National Institute for Drug Abuse (grants R01 DA034116 and R03 DA033499).
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel has expressed regret to an Indian-born college professor for jokingly asking, "you're not a member of the Taliban, are you?" seconds before the professor rose to ask a question.
Hagel's spokesman said the joke was not directed at anyone in particular, and the defense secretary called the professor, Robin Gandhi, to tell him as much hours after the Wednesday event at the University of Nebraska, where Hagel gave a speech and took questions from the audience.
Still, the remarks have drawn considerable media attention, particularly given the announcement this week that the United States and the Taliban intend to hold talks after nearly 12 years of war in Afghanistan.
Hagel "expressed regret for any trouble that this caused the professor," spokesman George Little told reporters.
"They had a very good discussion and (Hagel) wanted to leave no impression that this joke was directed at anyone in particular, including the professor," Little said. He noted that the defense secretary a little earlier in the program had answered a question about the Taliban, the Afghan insurgent group.
Gandhi said in a statement distributed by the university that he was honored to hear Hagel's speech and enjoyed the secretary's answer to his question about cyber weapons.
"Before I rose to ask a question, there was apparently some confusion that did not involve me," Gandhi said, suggesting he too did not believe Hagel's joke was addressed at him.
Nothing in the video of the event suggests Hagel knew Gandhi would be the next person to ask a question when he made the joke 12 seconds earlier.
Gandhi is an assistant professor of information assurance at the University of Nebraska's College of Information Science and Technology. A university spokesman said Gandhi was born in India.
(Reporting by Phil Stewart; Editing by Warren Strobel and Eric Beech)
When PrimeSense founder Aviad Maizels put a prototype of a 3D sensor on a chip in front of Microsoft in 2006, he had no idea it would lead to the biggest turning point in the Israeli startup's history. Four years later, its partnership with the Redmond giant resulted in Kinect, the motion-sensing camera that made headlines around the world. In 2013, however, Microsoft unveiled an all-new Kinect, the result of years of entirely in-house development -- without PrimeSense's assistance. As fate would have it, the company returned to its chip-making origins a year ago, creating a new product called Capri, a cheaper, lower-power and tinier version of its 3D system-on-a-chip; so tiny, in fact, that it's designed to be embedded inside tablets, laptops, thin displays and smartphones. With 3D use cases that go far beyond Dance Central, the Capri is the latest sign that PrimeSense is ready to break free from its video game roots.
(Reuters) - FedEx Corp reported a higher-than-expected quarterly profit on Wednesday, sending its shares higher, but the world's biggest air-freight company said it was cutting more capacity between the United States and Asia.
The company, considered an economic bellwether because of the massive volume of goods it moves around the world, is still trying to adjust to increasing demand for cheaper ground transport rather than pricier but faster air shipping.
In particular, the express unit, FedEx's biggest source of revenue, has suffered as more cost-conscious international customers opt to use container ships instead of costly overnight shipment by air. International priority shipment volumes fell 2 percent during the quarter, while international export revenue per package fell 2 percent as rates dropped.
The company said earlier this month that it would permanently retire or will speed up the retirement of 86 aircraft and more than 300 engines as it modernizes its fleet. It is also increasing rates for its FedEx Freight subsidiary by an average of 4.5 percent, effective July 1.
"Our profit improvement program is progressing, but we continue to see the effects of customers selecting lower-rate international services," Chief Financial Officer Alan B. Graf Jr. said. "FedEx Express will further decrease capacity between Asia and the United States in July."
FedEx reported net income of $303 million, or 95 cents a share, for the fourth quarter ended May 31, compared with $550 million, or $1.73 a share, a year earlier. (Graphic: http://link.reuters.com/cyh98t)
Excluding costs of a business realignment program and aircraft impairment charges, the company earned $2.13 a share. Analysts on average were expecting $1.96, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
Shares of Memphis, Tennessee-based FedEx were up 3 percent at $102. 48 in morning trading.
Revenue rose 3.6 percent to $11.4 billion, with FedEx Express revenue up 3 percent at $6.98 billion.
Revenue for the ground segment, which has been a strong performer, was $2.78 billion, up 12 percent.
FedEx Ground's average daily volume grew 10 percent in the fourth quarter helped by market share gains and growth in e-commerce.
FedEx forecast earnings growth of 7 percent to 13 percent, excluding special items, for its new fiscal year, assuming U.S. gross domestic product growth of 2.3 percent, world GDP growth of 2.7 percent and the current outlook for fuel prices.
Analysts on average were expecting a profit of $7.31 a share, which would be about 11 percent higher than last year. They termed the outlook conservative.
"FedEx's full-year guidance is readily achievable and creates a lower hurdle rate for success if the economy were to improve at a faster-than-expected rate," Duetsche Bank analyst Justin Yagerman wrote in a note.
Oppenheimer analyst Scott Schneeberger said he expected earnings growth to accelerate in fiscal 2015 and 2016.
(Reporting by Nivedita Bhattacharjee in Chicago; Editing by Gerald E. McCormick and Lisa Von Ahn)
CHESAPEAKE, Va. (WAVY) - A Chesapeake man is fighting two battles. One with cancer and the other with his insurance company over treatment coverage.
Jonathan Derrick of Chesapeake said he has always had health insurance, never missed a payment and never had to use it. Now, when he needs insurance coverage the most, he said he feels as if the insurance company could cost him his life.
"When you picture this, this is how we are supposed to be," said Kelli Derrick as she flipped through a photo album.
A wedding in Vegas, followed by two young boys and a business of their own -- for Kelli and Jonathan, life couldn't get better.
"We were so happy," Kelli added.
But it's amazing how fast things can change.
"There were little signs here or there," Kelli said.? "He would say he had abdominal pain, and of course as a wife I would be like 'suck it up or call the doctor.'"
That was only six months ago, six months they'll never forget.
"It's a terrible word, especially for a 35-year-old with no history of it," Jonathan added.? "I never had a clue it would happen to me."
A trip to the doctor revealed Jonathan was suffering from rectal cancer. It also moved into his liver.
"I don't want to give up," Jonathan said. "There's too much to live for."
Optima Health, the couple's insurance provider, sent Jonathan to several doctors around the area. He went through radiation and chemo, but nothing worked.
"Now he's on no treatment because his body's not responding to treatment," Kelli added.
But then a breakthrough: one of the doctors they were seeing through Optima suggested an innovative procedure called "hepatic arterial infusion," a process that could directly fight his cancer.
The doctor sent Optima a letter saying Jonathan's prognosis is grim and he should go to New York's Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center that specializes in the procedure. The letter said Sloan-Kettering has resources that aren't available anywhere in Virginia. Optima approved Derrick to go to New York for a second opinion.
"I feel like New York is our chance for me to live," Jonathan said.
During the trip, doctors at Sloan-Kettering set up surgery for July 2.
"Then, four days later, we get a call from Optima saying 'sorry we denied Sloan-Kettering, because we've found a doctor at the University of Virginia that performs the exact same procedure'," Kelli said.
WAVY.com made several calls to the UVA Medical Center and was told "hepatic arterial infusion" wasn't offered there, but an Optima spokesperson said it is. The Derricks said even if that's the case, they want it done by the best.
"I don't even think that there are words that can explain the anger that I feel for the insurance company," Jonathan said. "I don't know how somebody can sit behind a desk and snap their finger and say 'his life is not worth it'."
"This is just prolonging my sons having to see their father the way he was," Kelli added. "We had the hopes of having this [tumor] removed July 2. Even if UVA or any other hospital offers this, it's still not going to be within the time. We don't have time. He doesn't have time."
WAVY.com did get a statement from Optima that reads, "Optima Health works hard every day to improve the health of our members and provide them with appropriate options of care within the scope of their benefit plans. We respect the privacy of our members and will not discuss the specific medical care for any of our members."
The Derricks told WAVY.com they plan to go to New York, even if Optima doesn't pay for it. They said there are people all over Hampton Roads who are holding fundraisers to help them out. You can find more information about how to help by clicking this link .
In this Monday, June 10, 2013 photo, Michael Iozzi, left, works with fellow traders on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. World stock markets fell sharply Thursday June 20, 2013 after the U.S. Federal Reserve said it could start scaling back its huge economic stimulus program later this year and a survey showed a slowdown in manufacturing in China. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
In this Monday, June 10, 2013 photo, Michael Iozzi, left, works with fellow traders on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. World stock markets fell sharply Thursday June 20, 2013 after the U.S. Federal Reserve said it could start scaling back its huge economic stimulus program later this year and a survey showed a slowdown in manufacturing in China. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
FILE - In this Wednesday, June 19, 2013 file photo, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke speaks during a news conference in Washington. Mixed signals from the Federal Reserve have rattled investors for weeks. So Bernanke tried to set the record straight Wednesday about the Fed?s plans to shrink its bond-buying program later this year if the economy continues to improve. While investors didn?t necessarily like the content of Bernanke's message, there was little grumbling that he wasn't clear. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)
NEW YORK (AP) ? Stock futures are sliding in the wake of comments by the chairman of the Federal Reserve, who said that the U.S. would pull back on the massive bond-buying program that for months has propped up markets at home and abroad.
Dow Jones industrial futures are down 95 points to 14,952. S&P futures have lost 11.7 points to 1,612. Nasdaq futures down 24.25 points to 2,932.
Markets have been seeking clarity for some time and Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke provided it Wednesday, saying that the government would slow its bond-buying program later this year and, if the economy continues to improve, end it by 2014.
The 10-year bond is hitting a 15-month high and the dollar is jumping against foreign currencies.
HARRISBURG, Ill. (AP) -- Two colleges in southern Illinois have announced a cooperative agreement to provide training in the emerging field of high-volume oil and gas drilling.
Officials from Southeastern Illinois College in Harrisburg and Rend Lake College in Ina announced the plan Monday after Gov. Pat Quinn signed a new law establishing rules companies must follow during hydraulic fracturing, or "fracking."
Both colleges plan to provide a safety program and other training needed by the industry. Southeastern Illinois College has submitted a custom training certificate program to the state for approval. Rend Lake College plans to establish an associate degree program in oil and natural gas.
Fracking uses high-pressure mixtures of water, sand or gravel and chemicals to crack underground rock formations and release oil and natural gas.
If you thought you and your RepRap were safe from posers, you're sunk: Amazon has just opened a store for 3D printers and printer accessories that seems to, at the very least, allow smaller manufacturers to get a foothold in an increasingly tight market.
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Mad Catz CEO Darren Richardson may have already let slip about the forthcoming Android M.O.J.O. console, but now it's been made official. The firm stopped short of giving us all the specifications, but we can tell you that it supports Bluetooth 4.0, and will ship with the company's GameSmart C.T.R.L.R. wireless GamePad. Thanks to the images, we also get a clue at some of the connectivity, which includes two regular USB ports, one micro-USB, an HDMI out, headphone connector and microSD slot. The wedge-like device is out there in the wild at E3, so we'll be sure to give it the full hands-on once it's spotted in its natural habitat.
In the swing of things. While most teams in Major League Baseball are hitting their stride the LA Dodgers continue to struggle, much to the chagrin of their fans and distinguished ownership. Its tough to be a Dodger fan right now but with fresh fitted like this dropping the fans of LA will continue to rock Dodger blue. This NEW ERA 59Fifty fitted cap features a Dodger Blue crown with the Dodgers name embroidered on the front panel in White along with the LA skyline. Available now at?http://www.go-britain.nl/.
FILE - In this May 30, 2013 file photo provided by the Murnaghan family, Sarah Murnaghan, center, celebrates the 100th day of her stay in Children's Hospital of Philadelphia with her father, Fran, left, and mother, Janet. The 10-year-old suburban Philadelphia girl received a lung transplant there Wednesday, June 12, 2013, her family said. (AP Photo/Murnaghan Family, File)
FILE - In this May 30, 2013 file photo provided by the Murnaghan family, Sarah Murnaghan, center, celebrates the 100th day of her stay in Children's Hospital of Philadelphia with her father, Fran, left, and mother, Janet. The 10-year-old suburban Philadelphia girl received a lung transplant there Wednesday, June 12, 2013, her family said. (AP Photo/Murnaghan Family, File)
FILE - In this May 30, 2013 file photo provided by the Murnaghan family, Sarah Murnaghan, left, lies in her hospital bed next to adopted sister Ella on the 100th day of her stay in Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. Murnaghen, whose efforts to qualify for an organ donation drew public debate over how donated lungs are allocated was getting a transplant Wednesday, June 12, 2013, at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, her family said. (AP Photo/Murnaghan Family, File)
PHILADELPHIA (AP) ? A 10-year-old girl whose efforts to qualify for an organ donation sparked debate over how organs are allocated was getting a double-lung transplant Wednesday after a match with an adult donor was made.
Sarah Murnaghan, who suffers from severe cystic fibrosis, was receiving her new lungs Wednesday at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, family spokeswoman Maureen Garrity said. Murnaghan's relatives were "beyond excited" about the development but were "keeping in mind that someone had to lose a family member and they're very aware of that and very appreciative," Garrity said.
No other details about the donor are known, including whether the lungs came through the regular donor system or through public appeals.
Murnaghan's health was deteriorating when a judge intervened last week, giving her a chance at the much larger list of organs from adult donors.
"Some people would look at this and say it's evidence that if you get a PR campaign, a congressman and federal judge to pay attention, you're going to have far greater access to a transplant, but I don't think that's true," said ethicist Arthur Caplan of the NYU Langone Medical Center in New York of the Murnaghans' public stance.
The Newtown Square, Pa., family received word about the donor lungs Tuesday night, Garrity said. The surgery began just after 11:30 a.m. Wednesday and was expected to take at least six hours, she said.
Murnaghan's mother, Janet, said in a Facebook post that the family was "overwhelmed with emotions" and thanked all her supporters.
"Today is the start of Sarah's new beginning and new life!" she wrote, adding that the donor's family "has experienced a tremendous loss, may God grant them a peace that surpasses understanding."
During double lung transplants, surgeons must open up the patient's chest. Complications can include rejection of the new lung and infection.
Murnaghan's family and the family of another cystic fibrosis patient at the same hospital challenged existing transplant policy that made children under 12 wait for pediatric lungs to become available or be offered lungs donated by adults only after adolescents and adults on the waiting list had been considered. They said pediatric lungs are rarely donated.
On June 5, federal Judge Michael Baylson in Philadelphia ruled that Murnaghan and 11-year-old Javier Acosta of New York City should be eligible for adult lungs.
The Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network says 33 children under age 11 are on the waiting list for a lung transplant.
The network added Murnaghan to the adult waiting list after Baylson's ruling. Her transplant came just two days before a hearing was scheduled on the family's request for a broader injunction.
Critics warned there could be a downside to having judges intervene in the organ transplant system's established procedures. Lung transplants are difficult procedures and some say child patients tend to have more trouble with them than adults.
Cystic fibrosis causes a sticky mucus to build up in the lungs, clogging them and leading to life-threatening infections. It also clogs the pancreas so the body can't properly digest food. The disease occurs when someone inherits a flawed gene from each parent. A few decades ago, children with the disease seldom survived elementary school. Today nearly half reach age 18, but few live past 40.
A lung transplant doesn't cure cystic fibrosis, but over half the people with the disease who get lung transplants survive at least five years, according to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation website.
The national organization that manages organ transplants this week resisted making emergency rule changes for children under 12 who are waiting on lungs but created a special appeal and review system to hear such cases.
Caplan said Murnaghan's family "did have a legitimate complaint" about the rule that limited her access to adult lungs.
"When the transplant community met, they didn't want to change that rule without really thinking carefully about it," he said. The appeals process that was established this week was "built on evidence, not on influence."
He added: "In general, the road to a transplant is still to let the system decide who will do best with scarce, lifesaving organs. And it's important that people understand that money, visibility, being photogenic ... are factors that have to be kept to a minimum if we're going to get the best use out of the scarce supply of donated cadaver organs."
The transplant network declined to comment on Murnaghan's case but asked that anyone concerned about her fate consider becoming an organ donor.
"All these people out there who want to help this little girl, they can help everybody. All they have to do is go to their state registry and donate," spokeswoman Anne Paschke said. "Thousands more lives could be saved if people designated their wishes."
Pediatric organs are especially scarce. Minors can also signal their interest in organ donation by speaking with family members or, if they get a driver's license, noting their intent. Parents would still have to give consent for any donation to proceed, Paschke said.
Nationally, there are about 12 children age 10 and under on the top priority waiting list for lungs and eight others on a less urgent list. About 13 children are currently inactive, perhaps due to an infection or other issue.
Because of medical privacy laws and transplant network protocols, the public won't hear if another child gets a lung transplant unless a family wishes it to be known, Paschke said.
___
AP Science Writer Malcolm Ritter reported from New York
The new iOS 7 is radically simplified, incredibly flat, colorful, and multi-layered. It is, according to Apple CEO Tim Cook, ?the biggest change to iOS since iPhone.? And it may be the best thing yet designed by Jony Ive, who ...
June 11, 2013 ? A team of NIH-supported researchers is the first to show, in mice, an unexpected two-step process that happens during the growth and regeneration of inner ear tip links. Tip links are extracellular tethers that link stereocilia, the tiny sensory projections on inner ear hair cells that convert sound into electrical signals, and play a key role in hearing. The discovery offers a possible mechanism for potential interventions that could preserve hearing in people whose hearing loss is caused by genetic disorders related to tip link dysfunction.
The work was supported by the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD), a component of the National Institutes of Health.
The findings appear in the June 11, 2013 online edition of PLoS Biology. The senior author of this study is Gregory I. Frolenkov, an associate professor in the College of Medicine at the University of Kentucky, Lexington, and his fellow, Artur A. Indzhykulian, Ph.D., is the lead author.
Stereocilia are bundles of bristly projections that extend from the tops of sensory cells, called hair cells, in the inner ear. Each stereocilia bundle is arranged in three neat rows that rise from lowest to highest like stair steps. Tip links are tiny thread-like strands that link the tip of a shorter stereocilium to the side of the taller one behind it. When sound vibrations enter the inner ear, the stereocilia, connected by the tip links, all lean to the same side and open special channels, called mechanotransduction channels. These pore-like openings allow potassium and calcium ions to enter the hair cell and kick off an electrical signal that eventually travels to the brain, where it is interpreted as sound.
The findings build on a number of recent discoveries in laboratories at the NIDCD and elsewhere that have carefully plotted the structure and function of tip links and the proteins that comprise them. Earlier studies had shown that tip links are made up of two proteins -- cadherin-23 (CDH23) and protocadherin-15 (PCDH15) -- that join to make the link, with PCDH15 at the bottom of the tip link at the site of the mechanotransduction channel, and CDH23 on the upper end. Scientists assumed that the assembly was static and stable once the two proteins bonded.
Tip links break easily with exposure to noise. But unlike hair cells, which can't regenerate in humans, tip links repair themselves, mostly within a matter of hours. The breaking of tip links, and their regeneration, has been known for many years, and is seen as one of the causes of the temporary hearing loss you might experience after a loud blast of sound (or a loud concert). Once the tip links regenerate, hair cell function returns, usually to normal levels. What scientists didn't know was how the tip link reassembled.
To study tip link assembly, the researchers treated young, postnatal (5-7 days) mouse sensory hair cells with BAPTA -- a substance that, like loud noise, damages and disrupts tip links. To image the proteins, the group pioneered an improved scanning electron microscopy (SEM) technique of immunogold labeling that uses antibodies bound to gold particles that attach to the proteins. Then, using SEM, they imaged the cells at high resolution to determine the positions of the proteins before, during, and after BAPTA treatment.
What the researchers found was that after a tip link is chemically disrupted, a new tip link forms, but instead of the normal combination of CDH23 and PCDH15, the link is made up of PCDH15 proteins at both ends. Over the next 24 hours, the PCDH15 protein at the upper end is replaced by CDH23 and the tip link is back to normal.
Why tip links regenerate using a two-step instead of a neat one-step process is not known. For reasons that are still unclear, CDH23 disappears from stereocilia after noise damage while PDCH15 stays around. Looking to regenerate quickly, the lower PDCH15 latches onto another PDCH15, forming a shorter and functionally slightly weaker tip link. Later, at some time during the 36 hours after the damage, when CDH23 returns, PDCH15 gives up its provisional partner and latches onto its much stronger mate in CDH23. In other words, PDCH15 prefers to be with CDH23, but in a pinch it will bond weakly with another bit of PDCH15 until CDH23 shows up.
The researchers coupled the SEM observations with electrophysiology studies to show how the functional properties of the tip links changed throughout this two-step process. The temporary PCDH15/PCDH15 tip link has a slightly different functional response than the permanent PDCH15/CDH23 combination. Researchers were able to correlate the differences in function with the protein combinations that make up the tip link.
Additional experiments revealed that when hair cells develop, the tip links use the same two-step process.
Previous research has shown that both CDH23 and PCDH15 are required for normal hearing and vision. In fact, NIDCD scientists in earlier studies have shown that mutations in either of these genes can cause the hearing loss or deaf-blindness found in Usher Syndrome types 1D and 1F.
"In the case of deaf individuals who are unable to make functional CDH23, knowledge of this new temporary alliance of PCDH15 proteins to form a weaker, but still functional, tip link could inform treatments that would encourage the double PCDH15 bond to become permanent and maintain at least limited hearing," said Tom Friedman, Ph.D., chief of the Laboratory of Molecular Genetics at the NIDCD, where the research began.
The research was supported by NIDCD intramural funds DC000048-15 and NIDCD/NIH grants R01 DC008861, R01 DC002368, R01 DC012564, and P30 DC0058983.
June 11, 2013 ? New research analysing breast cancer mortality data spanning almost 40 years concludes that breast cancer screening does not yet show an effect on mortality statistics. The research, published in the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine, analysed mortality trends before and after the introduction of the National Health Service Breast Screening Programme in 1988. The research was based on an analysis of mortality statistics in the Oxford region because, unlike the rest of England, all causes of death on the death certificate, not just the underlying cause, are available prior to the commencement of the National Health Service breast cancer screening programme. In addition, mortality statistics for the whole of England, where death is recorded as an underlying cause, were analysed.
Researchers from the Department of Public Health at the University of Oxford sought evidence of a decline in population-based breast cancer mortality that could be attributed to the implementation of mammographic screening programmes. They concluded that population-based mortality statistics for England do not show a past benefit of breast cancer screening.
The new research contrasts with the findings of an independent review commissioned by the Department of Health published in 2012 which concluded that there was a 20% relative reduction in mortality from breast cancer in women invited to screening. The review also found that for each breast cancer death prevented, about three over-diagnosed cases will be identified and treated.
Lead researcher, Ms Toqir Mukhtar, says that while the new results do not rule out a benefit of breast cancer screening at the level of individual women, "the effects are not large enough to be detected at the population level." The results were unaltered by an analysis with the enhancement of using all certified causes of death.
Ms Mukhtar describes the evaluation of the effectiveness of mammographic screening programmes as problematic, saying that the effect of screening on mortality needs to be considered in light of improvements in treatment, and technological advancements made in mammographic screening, during the past 20 years.
She concludes: "Measuring the effectiveness of mammography screening is a fundamental area of concern in countries which have established mammography screening programmes. Clinical trials have indicated that several years have to elapse between the start of screening and the emergence of a reduction in mortality. Yet our data shows that there is no evidence of an effect of mammographic screening on breast cancer mortality at the population level over an observation period of almost 40 years."
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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by SAGE Publications, via EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS.
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Journal Reference:
Toqir K Mukhtar, David RG Yeates, and Michael J Goldacre. Breast cancer mortality trends in England and the assessment of the effectiveness of mammography screening: population-based study. Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine, 2013; DOI: 10.1177/0141076813486779
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I have an assignment I am a bit stuck on. The prompt is: (Find the smallest element) Write a method that finds the smallest element in an array of double values using the following header: public static double min(double[] array) Write a test program that prompts the user to enter ten numbers, invokes this method to return the minimum value, and displays the minimum value.
Here is what I have so far:
import java.util.Scanner; public class Exercise6_9 { public static void main(String[] args) { Scanner input = new Scanner(System.in); System.out.println("Enter 10 numbers."); double[] numbers = new double[10]; for (int i = 0; i < numbers.length; i++ ){ numbers[i] = input.nextDouble(); } } public static double min(double[] numbers){ double min = numbers[10]; for(int i=1;i<numbers.length;i++){ if(numbers[i] < min){ min = numbers[i]; System.out.println(min); } } return min; } }
I cannot figure out how to print the minimum value. I have tried countless different solutions. I am a complete noob at Java and my question is, am I at least close to the solution? and if so how do I print the minimum value? I get the error that "double[] cannot be defined in exercise 6_9."
Any help would be much appreciated.
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Replies To: Find the smallest element in array
#2 sepp2k ?
Reputation: 1702
Posts:2,574
Joined:21-June 11
Re: Find the smallest element in array
Posted 29 minutes ago
Yes, you're on the right track. The only thing that's missing is for you to call your min method from the main method and print the result.
You also probably shouldn't print the current minimum every time that you pick a new minimum, but I assume that's just there for debugging purposes.
Helghast, on 09 June 2013 - 08:54 PM, said:
I get the error that "double[] cannot be defined in exercise 6_9."
Can you post the exact and complete error message including line numbers and whatnot? I don't get any error message when compiling and running your code.
#3 axel1994 ?
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Re: Find the smallest element in array
Posted 23 minutes ago
A couple points: try to watch for indentation. (your main is nice and readable, but your min is too indented.)
next: try to keep your main as small as possible. Only a couple lines. Everything else could be done in another method.
Make only your main (and some variables when necessary) static.
In order to call those non-static methods in your main you create an new object. (classname name = new classname() ) Than you can call your methods via the object name.
Nextup: Your program is not entirely correct. Any array-index (whether it's double, int, String, ...) always start at 0. So item 1 is a index 0.
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Helghast, on 09 June 2013 - 08:54 PM, said: