JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South Africa's benchmark index ended slightly lower on Tuesday as a pull-back in some of the strongest performers this year cancelled out a rebound in recently beaten-down mining shares.
Investors also refrained from making aggressive bets at the start of the U.S. earnings season.
The blue-chip JSE Top-40 index inched down 0.16 percent to 33,930.95 points after setting a 2013 low of 33,774.82 during the session. The wider JSE All-share index edged down 0.11 percent to 38,540.81.
"We are seeing a bit of a sell-off on some of the shares that have actually been holding up nicely this year," said Ferdi Heyneke, a portfolio manager at Afrifocus Securities.
"At the same time, some can see value in mining shares because they have been hit quite a lot this year."
Global brewer SABMiller, one of the four best-performing stocks on the benchmark index this year, lost 2.5 percent.
Private hospital group Mediclinic retreated 1.87 percent to 63 rand, paring this year's gains to just under 15 percent.
Mining shares restricted the downside momentum, boosted by higher commodity prices and Chinese data suggesting sustained demand from the world's biggest consumer of industrial metals.
Base metals producer Assore, the second-worst blue chip performer this year, jumped 7.03 percent to 293 rand.
Gold Fields, the worst blue chip performer year-to-date with a near one-third drop, climbed 5.28 percent to 67.61 rand.
Elsewhere, Tsogo Sun surged 6.08 percent to 25.99 rand after the hotel and casino operator said it would invest $83 million expanding its two flagship casinos.
TORONTO (AP) -- The maker of the BlackBerry phone said Tuesday that a modern smartphone with a physical keyboard will be available in Canada in the coming weeks as major wireless companies started taking advance orders.
Details on when the BlackBerry Q10 will go on sale elsewhere will be announced soon, Research In Motion Ltd. said. Advance orders are already being accepted in the U.K.
The BlackBerry, pioneered in 1999, had been the dominant smartphone for on-the-go business people and other consumers before the iPhone debuted in 2007 and showed that phones can handle much more than email and phone calls. RIM faced numerous delays modernizing its operating system with the BlackBerry 10. During that time, it had to cut more than 5,000 jobs and saw shareholder wealth decline by more than $70 billion.
RIM surprised Wall Street last month by returning to profitability and shipping about 1 million touch-screen BlackBerry Z10 phones in the most recent quarter, which ended March 2. It will take several quarters, though, to know whether RIM is on a path toward a successful turnaround. RIM had just entered the critical U.S. market with the Z10 phone, and the more anticipated Q10 keyboard phone won't be on sale until late May or June because of testing by U.S. wireless companies.
The U.S. delay in selling the new keyboard BlackBerry complicates RIM's efforts to hang on to customers tempted by Apple's iPhone and a range of devices running Google Inc.'s Android operating system. Even as the BlackBerry has fallen behind rivals in recent years, many BlackBerry users have stayed loyal because they prefer a physical keyboard over the touch screen found on the iPhone and most Android devices. The temptations to switch grow with each additional delay, despite favorable reviews for BlackBerry 10 operating system.
Canadian carriers Rogers Communications Inc. and Telus Corp. both said Tuesday that advance orders are under way for the keyboard Q10 device, but neither would provide an exact date for when the Q10 would be available. Telus is offering the phone one a $199 with a three-year service agreement or $700 without a contract.
The all-touch-screen Z10 launched in Canada and other markets earlier this year and in the United States last month.
Powerball, the?ubiquitous?lottery game, finally arrived in California on Monday, and began to spread its enticing message of easy, instant fortune to residents of the Golden State. That message appears to have been a success: According to a press release distributed by California's lottery authority, more than 700,000 Californians purchased Powerball tickets in the 24 hours since they went on sale, generating approximately $3.1 million dollars in revenue for the Multi-State Lottery Association, the non-profit outfit which administers lotteries in 33 states. ...
Well, we switched internet services, and I hoped that would give me a stable enough online connection that I could join the wonders of gaming online.
After a promising start, the company ?fixed? our service. Now my computer is like a wet log, sluggishly surfacing to connect and then lolling over under the surface again. The connection is not better than it was before. Maybe we can do something with it, maybe not, but the short version is, no online gaming for Andrew.
Which makes me all the more appreciative of my local game group.
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KANDAHAR, Afghanistan (Reuters) - Six foreigners and an Afghan were killed in two separate attacks in Afghanistan on Saturday, local and international officials said.
Six people, including three NATO soldiers, died in a car bomb attack on a convoy of vehicles in Zabul province's capital, Qalat. Provincial governor Mohammad Ashraf Nasery, travelling in the convoy, was unharmed but a local doctor was killed, as were three American soldiers and two foreign civilians, according to local and NATO officials.
The cars were en route to a school and were near to a hospital and a NATO base when the car bomb exploded.
Five Afghans, including a student and two reporters, were also wounded, a local official said.
In a separate attack in Afghanistan's east, a U.S. civilian working with the American government was killed during an insurgent attack, the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said in a statement.
Zabul shares borders with Pakistan to the southeast and the birthplace of the Taliban, Kandahar province, to the south.
The Taliban claimed responsibility for the Zabul attack via a text message from spokesman Qari Yousuf Ahmadi. He said a car bomb killed seven foreigners and wounded five others, though he later revised the toll to 13 foreigners killed and nine wounded.
The Taliban routinely exaggerate casualty figures.
The killings come in the wake of a bloody Taliban assault in the country's west several days ago that killed 44 people. The United Nations says civilians are being increasingly targeted in 2013.
(Reporting by Ismail Sameem; Writing by Dylan Welch; Editing by Stephen Powell)
BOAO, China (Reuters) - The head of the International Monetary Fund hailed Japan's unprecedented monetary policy boost this week as a welcome support for a world economy that she said has improved from a year ago.
Christine Lagarde said on Sunday the radical $1.4 trillion stimulus from the Bank of Japan (BoJ) would help strengthen the advanced economies, saying growth in countries such as the United States was gaining speed.
But without referring specifically to Japan, Lagarde warned policymakers against thinking that super-loose monetary policy alone could do the heavy lifting in reviving economies, when growth may instead be stifled by unhealthy private and public finances.
"Monetary policies, including unconventional measures, have helped prop up the advanced economies, and in turn, global growth," Christine Lagarde told a forum in south China.
"The reforms just announced by the Bank of Japan are another welcome step in this direction," she said. "There is, however, a limit to how effectively monetary policy can continue to shoulder the lion's share of this effort."
Central banks still need to heed broken balance sheets that impede lending and plan for and guard against uncertainties arising from any policy change, the IMF chief said.
Japan stunned investors on Thursday by unleashing the world's most intense burst of monetary stimulus, which will pump $1.4 trillion into its economy in under two years. It hopes the shock therapy will end two decades of stagnation.
But the move is a huge gamble. It heavily exposes the BoJ to Japan's mountain of public debt and carries the potential for big losses if inflation spikes and investors lose faith in its viability.
Japan's government debt, at twice the size of its $5 trillion economy, is proportionally the highest among developed nations.
Lagarde said fiscal problems in developed nations such as Japan and the United States marred the global economic recovery and contrasted with emerging economies, where a broadening rebound is brightening the outlook.
ENVIABLE
Lagarde said the IMF expected Asian economies to grow by nearly 6 percent this year, "an enviable performance by any measure", as resilient domestic demand and accommodative policies power the region.
She said the impressive growth rate is customary for Asia, which has accounted for two-thirds of global growth in the last five years since the financial crisis struck.
Asia's buoyancy has rubbed off on the rest of the world.
"A substantial portion of the global economy looks better today than it did last year," Lagarde said. "And we are beginning to see momentum pick up in the United States."
In the euro zone, however, she said debt problems are weighing on growth and dragging out a recession.
Lagarde said the main task for the currency zone right now is to push for a banking union, a plan that is meant to put an end to the euro zone's debt troubles by severing the link between sovereign borrowers and banks.
Last month, however, Dutch Finance Minister Jeroen Dijsselbloem said European aid for troubled banks is a last resort, which raised doubts about the plan for a banking union.
Dijsselbloem made the comments after a rescue program was agreed for Cyprus that imposed steep losses on depositors, leading to suggestions that the Cypriot deal could serve as a precedent for future bank bailouts in the bloc.
Lagarde said Cyprus was not a model for the rest but that the pecking order for investors to absorb losses including depositors must be respected.
"When a financial institution goes under, a resolution process has to take place that will constantly be shouldered by taxpayers, either in the country or in the region or in the world," she said.
The rise of the "Internet of Things" promises to connect us wirelessly to all the gadgets around us, making our lives easier. That includes some surprising devices that are now networked.
By Rachel Rosmarin
", credit: "", sourceid: null, sourcename: "", sourceurl: null, sourcelogo: "", thumbsrc: "/cm/popularmechanics/images/jk/networked-devices-01-0413-smn.jpg", src: "/cm/popularmechanics/images/nN/networked-devices-01-0413-lgn.jpg", srcwidth: 600, srcheight: 450 }, { id: "slide2", url: "12-devices-you-didnt-know-were-web-connected-2", slidetype: "image", title: "Pet Feeder", description: "Working late? Feed Fido by tapping the screen on your iOS, Android, or Windows 8 app. The Wi-Fi-connected kibble receptacle can hold from 5 to 10 pounds of pet food, and dispense whatever amount you choose\n
\nUsers also can trust Pintofeed to know when their pet wants to eat based on when they\'ve eaten in the past. The device will come up with a feeding schedule and notify you via text, email, Facebook, or Twitter when each meal has been served. Pintofeed is heading into production now; you can reserve one for $129.", credit: "", sourceid: null, sourcename: "", sourceurl: null, sourcelogo: "", thumbsrc: "/cm/popularmechanics/images/wz/networked-devices-02-0413-smn.jpg", src: "/cm/popularmechanics/images/f2/networked-devices-02-0413-lgn.jpg", srcwidth: 600, srcheight: 450 }, { id: "slide3", url: "12-devices-you-didnt-know-were-web-connected-3", slidetype: "image", title: "Weather Cube", description: "A glance at your phone\'s weather app will reveal tomorrow\'s temperature. But it won\'t let you feel it. The thermoelectric element inside this Wi-Fi-connected metal cube can take it down to 0 degrees Fahrenheit or up to 100. Touching the temperature you\'ll be feeling tomorrow on the Cryoscope makes it real?you\'ll know for certain whether you need to take a sweater.", credit: "Robb Godshaw", sourceid: null, sourcename: "", sourceurl: null, sourcelogo: "", thumbsrc: "/cm/popularmechanics/images/fw/networked-devices-03-0413-smn.jpg", src: "/cm/popularmechanics/images/lg/networked-devices-03-0413-lgn.jpg", srcwidth: 600, srcheight: 450 }, { id: "slide4", url: "12-devices-you-didnt-know-were-web-connected-4", slidetype: "image", title: "Doorbell", description: "In the Harry Potter books, Mrs. Weasley owns a clock that tells her where her family members are. MIT Media Lab\'s Tangible Media Group envisions something similar: A doorbell that chimes a different sound when each member of the household is nearing home. It pulls data from each family member\'s Google Latitude account, a location-based mobile app that relies on Google Maps for GPS and cell-tower triangulation data. The doorbell alert means you won\'t have to stop cooking dinner when you want an update on your kids\' commute.", credit: "", sourceid: null, sourcename: "", sourceurl: null, sourcelogo: "", thumbsrc: "/cm/popularmechanics/images/0D/networked-devices-04-0413-smn.jpg", src: "/cm/popularmechanics/images/tn/networked-devices-04-0413-lgn.jpg", srcwidth: 600, srcheight: 450 }, { id: "slide5", url: "12-devices-you-didnt-know-were-web-connected-5", slidetype: "video", title: "Mirror", description: "Flat-panel displays are everywhere?even screens at gas stations and in elevators tell us the weather and the news. But this one by Cybertecture is also a Wi-Fi-connected mirror. Put it in the bathroom and it will relay health data, let you browse social networks, watch video, and even check your form while exercising. The mirror gleans health data from an optional peripheral: a sensor pad that functions as a scale that calculates body fat, muscle mass, and bone mass, in addition to weight.", credit: "", sourceid: null, sourcename: "", sourceurl: null, sourcelogo: "", thumbsrc: "/cm/popularmechanics/images/SW/networked-devices-05-0413-smn.jpg", videotype: "embedded" }, { id: "slide6", url: "12-devices-you-didnt-know-were-web-connected-6", slidetype: "video", title: "Piano", description: "\"Play it, @StanleyPiano. Play \'As Time Goes By.\'\"\n
\nSeattle agency Digital Kitchen created a player piano that receives tweets of song titles. It then takes MIDI files of those songs and turns them, via a USB interface, into ivory-tickled keynotes using a hardware controller. There\'s no satisfaction quite like commanding an old-school analog instrument to strike up a tune via your smartphone.", credit: "", sourceid: null, sourcename: "", sourceurl: null, sourcelogo: "", thumbsrc: "/cm/popularmechanics/images/F6/networked-devices-06-0413-smn.jpg", videotype: "embedded" }, { id: "slide7", url: "12-devices-you-didnt-know-were-web-connected-7", slidetype: "image", title: "Lightbulb", description: "Another Kickstarter success story, the energy-efficient Lifx bulb (available for preorder at $69 apiece) screws into existing sockets and is controlled via Wi-Fi on an iOS or Android app. You can tell it (or them, if you install multiple bulbs) to turn on and off at different times, dim and brighten slowly, change colors, flash in patterns, and more. The manufacturer also promises \"robot dancing.\" While the prospect of an Internet-enabled living-room rave sounds fun, the lazy comfort of dimming the lights from the couch or turning on the light in the basement before heading down the steps is even more appealing.", credit: "", sourceid: null, sourcename: "", sourceurl: null, sourcelogo: "", thumbsrc: "/cm/popularmechanics/images/kr/networked-devices-07-0413-smn.jpg", src: "/cm/popularmechanics/images/0m/networked-devices-07-0413-lgn.jpg", srcwidth: 600, srcheight: 450 }, { id: "slide8", url: "12-devices-you-didnt-know-were-web-connected-8", slidetype: "image", title: "Environmental Sensors", description: "In Star Trek, the Tricorder is the ultimate environmental sensor and data-analysis device. Curious earthbound types who\'ve wished for one may soon be able to play-act with the Sensordrone, a gadget with built-in sensors that sends data directly to smartphones in real time. The phones can then relay data to the Web via tweets and other social media. This is the Swiss Army Knife of data gathering.\n
\nSensors include temperature, humidity, light, IR barometer, blood alcohol level, carbon monoxide, and gas. Blood-pressure monitors are expected soon, but no word on whether a radiation detector is in the works. You can set your smartphone to automatically tweet data gathered from the sensors.", credit: "", sourceid: null, sourcename: "", sourceurl: null, sourcelogo: "", thumbsrc: "/cm/popularmechanics/images/nq/networked-devices-08-0413-smn.jpg", src: "/cm/popularmechanics/images/Hn/networked-devices-08-0413-lgn.jpg", srcwidth: 600, srcheight: 450 }, { id: "slide9", url: "12-devices-you-didnt-know-were-web-connected-9", slidetype: "image", title: "Gardening Assistant", description: "Attention hydroponic gardeners: Not sure about optimum light, water, and temperature levels for your plants? Sensors placed in your planters can measure water, temperature, humidity, brightness, pH, and nutrient concentration, and can help to yield a better crop. Bitponics\' gear, currently in development, takes measurements from the air and soil and uploads them automatically to a Web interface for analysis, helping to turn your black thumb to green.", credit: "", sourceid: null, sourcename: "", sourceurl: null, sourcelogo: "", thumbsrc: "/cm/popularmechanics/images/9D/networked-devices-09-0413-smn.jpg", src: "/cm/popularmechanics/images/TX/networked-devices-09-0413-lgn.jpg", srcwidth: 600, srcheight: 450 }, { id: "slide10", url: "12-devices-you-didnt-know-were-web-connected-10", slidetype: "image", title: "Paper-Craft Toys", description: "ReaDIYmates are pattern kits for paper-craft toys (monsters and sculptures). Each one comes with a paper body, a built-in motor and speaker, and a tiny processor with some flash memory and a Wi-Fi radio. Thanks to this hardware, you can turn these bits of paper and wire into amiable creatures by using your creative touch.\n
\nWith simple Web commands, for example, teach them to dance using your iPhone\'s accelerometer, tweet, or send voice memos. Have them holler and shimmy when someone likes your latest Facebook post. Or use these highly personalized toys to entertain someone, even from a Web browser half a world away.", credit: "", sourceid: null, sourcename: "", sourceurl: null, sourcelogo: "", thumbsrc: "/cm/popularmechanics/images/SI/networked-devices-10-0413-smn.jpg", src: "/cm/popularmechanics/images/f7/networked-devices-10-0413-lgn.jpg", srcwidth: 600, srcheight: 450 }, { id: "slide11", url: "12-devices-you-didnt-know-were-web-connected-11", slidetype: "image", title: "Music Box", description: "Miss the tactile feel of mix tapes, but don\'t want to store your music on flimsy disposable media? The Spotify box, a prototype built by designer Jordi Parra, appeals to nostalgic types who\'ve lamented the Internet-only aspect of modern music consumption but don\'t want to eschew the endless variety available online. Tiny RFID tokens link directly to Spotify music playlists or artist tags that play when you place them on the Web-connected box.", credit: "", sourceid: null, sourcename: "", sourceurl: null, sourcelogo: "", thumbsrc: "/cm/popularmechanics/images/d5/networked-devices-11-0413-smn.jpg", src: "/cm/popularmechanics/images/A0/networked-devices-11-0413-lgn.jpg", srcwidth: 600, srcheight: 450 }, { id: "slide12", url: "12-devices-you-didnt-know-were-web-connected-12", slidetype: "image", title: "Lamps", description: "The Good Night Lamp is a beautifully designed light fixture shaped like a house. It comes with a larger and smaller version of the same design. Turning on the big lamp at your home also turns on the little one, which might be in your daughter\'s dorm room. The two users decide what on and off mean; turning the light off could mean \"I\'m asleep,\" or turning it on could mean \"I have time to talk on the phone now.\"\n
\nSure, people could send these messages by text. But the Good Night Lamp\'s designers think of it as a way to feel the presence of someone located far away. The lamp failed to meet its Kickstarter goals, but its creators still plan to move forward with the project.", credit: "", sourceid: null, sourcename: "", sourceurl: null, sourcelogo: "", thumbsrc: "/cm/popularmechanics/images/sV/networked-devices-12-0413-smn.jpg", src: "/cm/popularmechanics/images/R0/networked-devices-12-0413-lgn.jpg", srcwidth: 600, srcheight: 450 } ] };
Air Quality Egg
Air-quality levels monitored and reported by the government don't take into account the conditions right outside your doorstep. If you knew that nitrogen dioxide and carbon monoxide levels in your neighborhood or near your child's school were especially high on any given day, you might choose to keep young lungs inside.
The Air Quality Egg gives you exactly this information. Sensors measure air quality outside your front door, and then an RF transmitter sends the data to an egg-shaped base station in your house. The Egg, which turns different colors to alert you to changes in the air quality, sends the data on to a service that graphs it for the public.
The collective information from Eggs around the world could ultimately help researchers studying the environmental causes for a variety of diseases, such as heart and lung disease.
The tale of Google and Frommer's famed travel guides has taken another twist this evening. Associated Press writer Beth Harpaz reports Arthur Frommer confirmed over the phone that he has retaken control of the brand from Google, and plans to continue publishing them in e-book and print formats, as well as maintaining the Frommers.com website. This comes after Google acquired the brand from publisher Wiley in 2012, followed by Skift.com's revelation last month that it apparently intended to shut production of the books down.
We're told by a Google spokesperson (check after the break for the full statement) that it has integrated the content it acquired from Frommer's and Wiley into its products including Google+ Local, that it has transferred ownership back to the founder and that it will continue licensing content from him. Why things took this circuitous route right back to the man who started it all back in 1957 is unknown and terms of the agreement were not disclosed, but we're sure fans of the budget travel how-tos are happy to see Frommer's keep going.
Welcome to The CITE -- a blog on Course materials, Innovation, and Technology in Education, created by Mark Nelson and now part of the Publications Department of the National Association of College Stores. CITE is a pun with multiple meanings - referring to cite as in citation, something people reference; site as in location, website, or place people go to; and sight as in foresight or looking ahead to what is coming. Comments, discussion, feedback and ideas are welcome.
TULSA, Okla. (AP) ? Citing the scope of a public health scare involving thousands of patients of an Oklahoma oral surgeon, the head of the state's dentistry board said Monday she wants prosecutors to consider pursuing criminal charges.
Nearly 1,000 of Dr. W. Scott Harrington's 7,000 patients have now been tested in Tulsa for hepatitis B and C as well as HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. About 400 people showed up at a clinic north of downtown Saturday, the first day the free tests were offered, and nearly 560 people showed up Monday.
Susan Rogers, the executive director of the Oklahoma Board of Dentistry, told The Associated Press that she talked with Tulsa County District Attorney Tim Harris on Monday to discuss whether Harrington is criminally liable.
"We're looking for the witnesses and individuals who can testify for us that this is what happened to me in (Harrington's) office," Rogers told AP.
The 17-count complaint filed last week by Rogers' office called Harrington a "menace to the public health." The complaint also said officials found rusty instruments, potentially contaminated drug vials and improper use of a machine designed to sterilize tools at Harrington's two Tulsa-area offices.
Harrington and his staff could face at least two felony charges, Rogers said, including practicing dentistry without a license and aiding or abetting another person who is violating the state's dental act. Rogers said each possible charge could carry a prison term of up to four years and a $10,000 fine.
"I did speak to the DA this morning and I've talked to other officials, and I can't comment on those conversations, but there's more to come," Rogers said.
A spokeswoman at the district attorney's office could not comment Monday because prosecutors haven't received any paperwork from the dentistry board. A message left Monday morning with Harrington's attorney in Tulsa was not immediately returned.
Harrington had been a dentist for 36 years before voluntarily giving up his license March 20. He faces an April 19 hearing at which he could have his certification revoked.
Letters have been sent to 7,000 patients, urging them to be screened for hepatitis B and C and the virus that causes AIDS. Those letters should arrive no later than about two weeks, Kaitlin Snider, spokeswoman for the Tulsa Health Department, said Monday.
"We are here for the long haul," Snider said. "We know we can't screen 7,000 patients in a day or even in a week."
Those who have been tested should receive their results within two weeks, she added.
According to the Oklahoma Dentistry Board's complaint, Harrington's practice had varying cleaning procedures for its equipment, needles were re-inserted in drug vials after their initial use and drug vials were used on multiple patients.
Also, dental assistants performed some tasks reserved to a licensed dentist, such as administering IV sedation. A device used to sterilize equipment hadn't undergone required monthly tests in at least six years.
"When this started, I had no idea it was going to be this bad or this broad," Rogers said Monday. "This one scared me."
The public alert began after a patient of Harrington's initially tested positive for HIV in a screening at a third-party provider. But more testing indicated that the patient was not positive for HIV, only hepatitis C, the Tulsa Health Department said Friday.
Court records show that Harrington was sued for medical malpractice in 1994, and the case was settled in 1995. He also was sued for negligence in 1997, which was settled out of court in the same year.
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Apr. 1, 2013 ? A team of international cancer researchers led by Dr. Mathieu Lupien at the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, University Health Network, has identified the signalling pathway that is over-activated in estrogen receptor (ER)-positive breast cancer cells that are resistant to hormone therapies such as tamoxifen, aromatase inhibitors or fulvestrant.
Resistance to hormone therapy is reported in almost half of ER-positive breast cancer patients and no cure is currently available. The fact that the pathway, called Notch, is a drug target creates hope for a new therapy.
The findings, published online today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, "provide a new therapeutic target against hormone therapy-resistant breast cancers and a companion test to identify tumours that would become resistant" says Dr. Lupien, a scientist at the Ontario Cancer Institute, the research arm of the cancer centre, and an Assistant Professor in the Department of Medial Biophysics, University of Toronto. He specializes in epigenetics of hormone-dependent cancers -- the study of non-genetic determinants of cellular identity that can also be altered to initiate or modify disease.
"In studying the epigenetics of hormone therapy resistance, we discovered that breast cancer cells behave like a chameleon. Indeed, as the chameleon changes its skin colour to camouflage itself and evade predators," says Dr. Lupien, "breast cancer cells change the appearance of their DNA through epigenetics to evade, in this case, hormone therapy." In so doing, hormone therapy-resistant breast cancer cells highlight regions of their DNA related to the Notch pathway.
At the molecular level, the research team characterized the epigenetic appearances of the DNA of drug-resistant and drug-responsive breast cancer cells. The team discovered that the Notch signaling pathway plays the predominant role in drug-resistant breast cancer cells even if cells remain positive for ER.
"This is a highly promising discovery that could rapidly translate in the clinic. Drugs against the Notch pathway are available." says Dr. Lupien. The key will be to test the efficacy of these drugs against hormone therapy resistance in breast cancer.
The research was funded by the National Cancer Institute, the American Cancer Society and the Ontario Institute for Cancer Research. Dr. Lupien's research is also supported by The Princess Margaret Cancer Foundation.
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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by University Health Network.
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Journal Reference:
Luca Magnani, Alexander Stoeck, Xiaoyang Zhang, Andr?s L?nczky, Anne C. Mirabella, Tian-Li Wang, Bal?zs Gyorffy, and Mathieu Lupien. Genome-wide reprogramming of the chromatin landscape underlies endocrine therapy resistance in breast cancer. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2013; DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1219992110
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.
Technology ? is a queer thing. It brings you great gifts with one hand, and it stabs you in the back with the other. C. P. Snow, New York Times, 15 March 1971
One thing that beats me when I think about smartphones like Apple and Android, is the typical user?s reluctance to purchase Apps and equipment for it. Sure, after paying a few hundred bucks for the device (immediately or in contract rates), it is normal to be reluctant to pay even more for it. But on the other hand ? if you have already paid so much for it, why limit its uses when you have it?
Besides Apps, one of the best things you can purchase is ? in my opinion ? a waterproof casing. Some time ago I bought the necessary equipment to make my iPhone waterproof ? at least in principle. There are different cases that should make it waterproof, after looking around I tried Lifeproof(R).
As the rest of the site, this is without warranty. But due to the possible negative consequences, I repeat it explicitly: It worked for me (so far), but there are other reports on Amazon (seems bimodal, many love it, many hate it). I am guessing this is due to difference between actual and perfect-use failure rates when it comes to using the case. Here a mistake might cost you your device. Do this at your own risk!
I hope I never find out whether it survives when it is completely immersed in water. But so far, it survived more than one jogging trip through rain and snow ? while being strapped to my upper arm, exposed to the elements.
My jogging equipment: An iPhone 4 with a Lifeproof case and armband. The H20 earplugs are waterproof and are wound around the Buff headwear (worn around the neck while jogging). This keeps the motion of the earplug cable to a minimum.
But it?s not only good for jogging. The case allows me to use my iPhone to capture ideas in the rain. If I am walking to work, I can take it out and jot down ideas no matter whether it?s raining or not, and no matter whether I use an umbrella or not. It has more or less replaced my paper notebook, and in many ways, I prefer to capture most ideas digitally.
So, if you are using a digital device to capture your ideas, think about how you can make it more resistant and get more out of it.
That $1,500 price tag for Google Glass Explorer Edition? Perhaps it makes a bit more sense considering that US labor will be used to manufacturer it. According to unnamed sources cited by Financial Times, the first run of production-quality Glass headsets will be built in Santa Clara, California. The reason? A lot is riding on the quality of Glass, and it's likely that Google just wants to keep a close eye on every single prototype that leaves the lab. In fact, it's not exactly uncommon -- the outfit did the same for its ill-fated Nexus Q, and Apple is building some of its iMacs here in the states as well.
It's also important to note that the initial batch of Glass headsets won't be high yield, so there's little reason for Google to look overseas with so few units slated for production. Whether or not the lines in NorCal will continue to hum once these things hit critical mass remains to be seen, but it is interesting that Hon Hai Precision (read: Foxconn) will reportedly manage the facility that cranks 'em out.
Mar. 25, 2013 ? The first multi-gene DNA sequencing test that can help predict cancer patients' responses to treatment has been launched in the National Health Service (NHS), thanks to a partnership between scientists at the University of Oxford and Oxford University Hospitals NHS Trust.
The test uses the latest DNA sequencing techniques to detect mutations across 46 genes that may be driving cancer growth in patients with solid tumours. The presence of a mutation in a gene can potentially determine which treatment a patient should receive.
The researchers say the number of genes tested marks a step change in introducing next-generation DNA sequencing technology into the NHS, and heralds the arrival of genomic medicine with whole genome sequencing of patients just around the corner.
The many-gene sequencing test has been launched through the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Oxford Biomedical Research Centre (BRC), a collaboration between Oxford University Hospitals NHS Trust and Oxford University to accelerate healthcare innovation, and which has part-funded this initiative.
The BRC Molecular Diagnostics Centre carries out the test. The lab, based at Oxford University Hospitals, covers all cancer patients in the Thames Valley area. But the scientists are looking to scale this up into a truly national NHS service through the course of this year.
The new ?300 test could save significantly more in drug costs by getting patients on to the right treatments straightaway, reducing harm from side effects as well as the time lost before arriving at an effective treatment.
'We are the first to introduce a multi-gene diagnostic test for tumour profiling on the NHS using the latest DNA sequencing technology,' says Dr Jenny Taylor of the Wellcome Trust Centre for Human Genetics at Oxford University, who is programme director for Genomic Medicine at the NIHR Oxford BRC and was involved in the work. 'It's a significant step change in the way we do things. This new 46 gene test moves us away from conventional methods for sequencing of single genes, and marks a huge step towards more comprehensive genome sequencing in both infrastructure and in handling the data produced.'
Dr Anna Schuh, who heads the BRC Molecular Diagnostics Centre and is a consultant haematologist at Oxford University Hospitals, adds: 'Patients like the idea of a test that can predict and say up front whether they will respond to an otherwise toxic treatment. What the patient sees is no different from present. A biopsy is taken from the patient's tumour for genetic testing with a consultant talking through the results a few days later. It is part of the normal diagnostic process.'
Cancer is often described as a genetic disease, since the transition a cell goes through in becoming cancerous tends to be driven by changes to the cell's DNA. And increasingly, new cancer drugs depend on knowing whether a mutation in a single gene is present in a patient's cancer cells.
For example, a lung cancer patient may have a biopsy taken to check for changes in the EGFR gene. If there is a mutation, the patient may then be treated with a drug that works as an EGFR inhibitor. If there is no mutation, such drugs won't work and the patient would get a different drug that would be more effective for them. Knowing the presence or absence of mutations in a certain gene can choose the treatment path for that patient.
The NHS can currently test for mutations in 2 or 3 genes -- genes called BRAF, EGFR or KRAS -- using older sequencing technology that has been around for decades. Efforts are being made to look at increasing the number of cancer genes sequenced to nine as standard.
The Oxford scientists are the first to make such multi-gene tests possible in the NHS using the latest DNA sequencing techniques. The NHS service they have launched looks for mutations in 46 genes, and they are now working towards verifying the use of a test involving 150 genes.
Having a diagnostic test or 'panel' that can screen for mutations in multiple genes at once will be important for access to all the new cancer drugs that are coming along.
'It will be very difficult to manage in NHS diagnostic labs without gene panels,' explains Dr Schuh. 'Currently, new cancer drugs tend to get approved alongside a diagnostic test specific to that drug which can determine which patients will benefit. But as more and more drugs like this come along, we can't possibly run all the many different separate tests this could mean. We need one test for a range of drugs.'
Dr Taylor adds: 'We wanted a test that would use the latest DNA sequencing techniques to detect a wide range of mutations in a wide range of genes. A test that would be able to cover more cancers and more treatments, all for a similar cost to conventional methods.'
The test is run on a next generation sequencing platform from Life Technologies Corporation, called the Ion Personal Genome Machine (PGM(TM)). The test and accompanying software have been substantially modified as requested by the Oxford team to fulfil diagnostic standards in their lab.
This work was co-funded by the Technology Strategy Board, the UK's innovation agency, through a grant to the NIHR Oxford BRC, Life Technologies Corporation, AstraZeneca, and Janssen Research & Development, LLC, one of the Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies.
As part of the test development, the Oxford team looked to improve the initial sample preparation in the lab, and to provide the software and infrastructure support to handle and analyse the amount of information involved. Most importantly, the Oxford group has carried out tests and comparisons to verify the robustness of the technique with cancer biopsies direct from patients.
The team compared the new 46 gene test against conventional techniques for 80 consecutive cancer biopsies in the hospital lab's workflow.
The next-generation DNA sequencing method detected all the mutations the conventional method did; it detected new mutations the conventional method didn't; and detected mutations present at much lower levels in the samples. The time taken for the 46 gene test also fitted into the standard turnaround time for samples at the lab.
There is definite benefit in screening some of the 46 genes included in the test; there is probable or likely clinical benefit in screening some of the others; mutations in further genes might be important in some cancers but not others; and the other genes, we don't know as yet. But having this information means researchers can investigate whether a mutation has biological significance.
'We can keep data, bank it and link it with anonymised clinical data on patients' cancers for future research,' explains Dr Schuh.
The test looks for mutations in 'hotspot' regions of each gene -- areas where mutations are more likely to occur. This does mean the test may miss up to 5% of mutations, as they can occur elsewhere, but this is still significantly better than the 'false negative' rate using current methods.
It can also detect mutations present in only 5% of the tumour cells present in a sample. This is much lower than is possible currently, and is important in being able to capture information from cells present in only small numbers in a tumour, but which are still important in driving cancer growth.
Having shown that it is possible to introduce the 46 gene test as an NHS service, the researchers are now moving on to investigate the potential of a test that will sequence 150 genes. The team will use the test first of all with 500 existing samples from patients taking part in cancer clinical trials to be able to compare the results retrospectively with information from the trials. They will then use the test with 1000 new cancer biopsies to better understand how the extra information could be used in guiding treatments for patients and their outcomes.
Dr Schuh says: '"Panel" tests have significant potential while we wait for the cost of sequencing whole patient genomes to come down. Even then, panel tests may be with us for some time. After whole genome sequencing does come into use, it may be that panel tests are used first with patients' biopsies, with only those whose panel test shows no result having their entire DNA sequenced to look for rarer genetic changes.'
Lord Howe, Health Minister, said: 'We want to be among the best countries in the world at treating cancer and know that better tailored care for patients could potentially save lives.
'Health research like this is incredibly important and I'm delighted we could support the work of researchers in Oxford through the National Institute for Health Research Biomedical Research Centre.
'By rapidly translating findings from genetics research into real benefits for patients, their work will make sure that patients get the right treatments straight away, reduce potential side effects and also help us use NHS funds more effectively.'
The 46-gene panel is based on Ion AmpliSeq(TM) chemistry from Life Technologies Corporation. The test requires a very small amount of DNA (5 nanograms), an advantage when working with clinical samples that are typically limited in quantity.
The Ion Personal Genome Machine (PGM(TM) and Ion AmpliSeq(TM) are for Research Use Only, not intended for use in diagnostic procedures. Life Technologies intends to pursue CE-IVD designation for the PGM.
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Blake Shelton says he?s not going to BS? ? ?The Voice? is going to be different when it comes back Monday night.
Gone are fellow coaches Cee Lo Green and Christina Aguilera. Their revolving red thrones will now be occupied by one-name wonders Shakira and Usher.
?It?s different with different personalities and a different chemistry,? Shelton shared at NBC's party at the TV Critic's winter press tour.
For one thing, he and fellow returning coach Adam Levine will be competing with smooth operator Usher and international superstar Shakira for the best competitors on the ?The Voice.?
Right away, he knew Usher would be a fierce competitor.
?This is the guy who found Justin Bieber,? Shelton said. ?That's what we are trying to do on this show, and he?s already done it.?
The country superstar knew a lot about Usher, but less about Shakira before the show started.
?The most intimidating thing came later. I had heard of Shakira, but one day I Googled her and Wikipediaed her,? Shelton said. ?And I saw where she had sold over a 100 million records and I was like, ?What the (expletive)?!???
He said that?s when he and Levine looked at each other and said, ?Hey, we?ve been worrying about the wrong person.?
The pre-voting shows have already been recorded, and although Shelton has won the last two battles with his team representative, he said he often gets shut down when he and other judges turn for the same contestant ? and have to woo the singer to their respective teams.
?The thorn in my side many times was Usher,? Shelton said. ?Adam always takes artists away from me and I?m used to that. But when Usher would turn around, especially if it was a girl, they would just melt when they saw that guy. So yeah, he was a problem.?
Not that it was so easy with Shakira, though.
?This is a girl who knows how to affect an audience, and she does it worldwide, ? Shelton said. ?I?m excited when I leave Oklahoma and somebody knows who I am.?
But does he engage in a little nose rubbing when it comes to his past wins?
?I don?t mention it unless I?m around Adam, knowing how competitive he is and what a baby he can be,? Shelton said with an impish grin.
For fans eager to watch how well the new judges mesh with the vets, there will be a spectacular joint performance.
?I?m not going to say which song because somebody will be bitching at me,? Shelton said. ?I will say the only thing that compares to it was the first season when we did Cee Lo?s ?Crazy.? I felt we were truly a band.?
"The Voice" airs Mondays and Tuesdays at 8 p.m. on NBC.
How do you think the new group of coaches will do this season? Tell us on our Facebook page!
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) ? Given the choice of whether to expand Medicaid under President Barack Obama's health care law, many Republican governors and lawmakers initially responded with an emphatic "no."
Now they are increasingly hedging their objections.
A new "no, but ..." approach is spreading among GOP states in which officials are still publicly condemning the Democratic president's Medicaid expansion yet floating alternatives that could provide health coverage to millions of low-income adults while potentially tapping into billions of federal dollars that are to start flowing in 2014.
The Medicaid health care program for poor, which is jointly funded by the federal and state governments, already covers about one in five people in the U.S. Expanding it was the way Obama envisioned covering many more low-income workers who don't have insurance. The new Republican alternatives being proposed in states generally would go part of the way, but cover fewer people than Obama's plan, guarantee less financial help or rely more on private insurers.
But so far, many of the Republican ideas are still more wistful than substantive. It's uncertain whether they will actually pass. And even if they do, there's no guarantee Obama's administration will allow states to deviate too greatly from the parameters of the Affordable Care Act while still reaping its lucrative funding. Yet a recent signal from federal officials that Arkansas might be able to use Medicaid money to buy private insurance policies has encouraged Republicans to try alternatives.
The GOP proposals could lead to another health care showdown between the White House and states, leaving millions of Americans who lack insurance waiting longer for resolution. Officials in about 30 states that are home to more than 25 million uninsured residents remain either defiant or undecided about implementing Obama's Medicaid expansion, according to an Associated Press survey.
Supporters of the Medicaid expansion have built coalitions of hospitals, businesses groups, religious leaders and advocates for the poor to try to persuade reluctant Republicans of the economic and moral merits of Obama's health care plan. But some Republicans believe the pressure ultimately will fall on Obama to accept their alternatives if he wants to avoid a patchwork system for his signature accomplishment.
"If the Obama administration is serious about innovative ways to bring down the cost of health care, it's going to cooperate with conservative ideas rather than continue down its one-size-fits-all, far-left-wing ideological path," said Missouri Rep. Jay Barnes, a Republican from Jefferson City.
A House committee led by Barnes already has defeated Obama's version of Medicaid expansion. It is to hear public testimony Monday on his "market-based Medicaid" alternative that would award health care contracts to competing private insurers and provide cash incentives to patients who hold down their health-care costs. His proposal would contain costs by covering fewer children than Medicaid now does and adding fewer adults than Obama's plan envisions.
Committees in Florida's Republican-led Legislature also have rejected a Medicaid expansion for roughly 1 million of the state's poorest residents, even though it is backed by GOP Gov. Rick Scott. Now Republican Sen. Joe Negron is pursuing an alternative that would use federal funds to provide vouchers for low-income residents to buy private policies. Negron said he still doesn't believe expanding Medicaid is the right decision, but he wants to help Florida residents get health coverage.
"We don't want to do it the Washington way. We want to do it the Florida way," Negron said.
Republican Ohio Gov. John Kasich also has been in discussions with the Obama administration about providing subsidized insurance instead of full Medicaid coverage for more adults. Republican governors in Texas, Nebraska and Indiana want the federal government to award Medicaid money as block grants to states.
"It's a two-step for many of these Republican governors. When they look at the numbers they want to do it, but they want to distance themselves from Obamacare at the same time," said Drew Altman, president of the Kaiser Family Foundation, a nonprofit that analyzes health care policies.
That might be fine with the Obama administration.
"There actually is quite a bit of flexibility on how they can approach this, and the federal government has indicated they want to get to 'yes' " said Joan Alker, co-executive director of Georgetown University's Center for Children and Families in Washington, D.C.
As originally enacted, the Affordable Care Act required states to expand Medicaid to adults earning up to 138 percent of the federal poverty level, about $32,500 annually for a family of four. A Supreme Court decision last summer made the expansion optional for states but kept in place a powerful financial incentive. The federal government will fully fund the expansion for the first three years, with the states' share gradually increasing to 10 percent by 2020.
Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said in December that getting full funding will still require a full expansion. Yet some Republicans in Missouri, South Dakota and elsewhere claim to see room for compromise.
LaTonya Jenkins, a 51-year-old laid off teacher's aide who lives in temporary housing for the homeless in Kansas City, recently enrolled in Medicaid but could lose coverage if her part-time job pushes her income over Missouri's strict eligibility limits. She recently traveled to Missouri Capitol to urge lawmakers to expand Medicaid.
"If they don't, and they cut it out, then what are we to do? We'll be lost," said a tearful Jenkins, who has diabetes and cares for her grandson. "I'll be sicker than ever and back in the hospital."
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Associated Press writer Kelli Kennedy contributed to this report from Miami.
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Follow David A. Lieb at: http://www.twitter.com/DavidALieb
You might say the week is never really done in consumer technology news. Your workweek, however, hopefully draws to a close at some point. This is the Weekly Roundup on Engadget, a quick peek back at the top headlines for the past seven days -- all handpicked by the editors here at the site. Click on through the break, and enjoy.
A new study has found that Spanish nurses trained specifically to resolve acute health problems of low complexity provide care of comparable quality to that of general practitioners. Published early online in the Journal of Advanced Nursing, the findings suggest that nurses may be able to take on some of the care generally provided by physicians.
Mireia Fbregas, MD, of the Institut Catal de la Salut, in Barcelona, Spain, and her colleagues randomized 1461 adult patients who requested same day appointments to see either nurses trained to respond to problems with low complexity or to see general practitioners. The study was conducted in 38 general practices in Catalonia, Spain, and 142 general practitioners and 155 nurses participated. The investigators measured how well patients' symptoms resolved and how satisfied patients were two weeks after the visit.
The investigators found that nurses successfully solved 86.3% of the cases. The health problem that nurses solved with greatest ease was burns, followed by injuries and acute diarrhea. Nurses were less successful at resolving low back pain, acute mild upper respiratory symptoms, and urinary discomfort. "This lower resolution could be explained by the fact that these problems require more complex physical examinations that are not usual in a nurse's daily work," said Dr. Fbregas. Patients who saw nurses were equally satisfied with their visit as those who saw doctors. When patients were asked about their preferences regarding which professional they would like to visit if a similar health problem arose again, more than 40% of patients in each group expressed indifference.
"This study could help to reduce resistance to change in both physicians and nurses, as well as in the general population, generating confidence in the care provided by nurses," said Dr. Fbregas. She and her co-authors noted that having nurses solve acute diseases of low complexity could help improve overall health care efficiency.
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URL Upon publication: http://doi.wiley.com/10.1111/jan.12120
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Nurses provide care comparable to that of doctors for resolving health problems of low complexityPublic release date: 21-Mar-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]
A new study has found that Spanish nurses trained specifically to resolve acute health problems of low complexity provide care of comparable quality to that of general practitioners. Published early online in the Journal of Advanced Nursing, the findings suggest that nurses may be able to take on some of the care generally provided by physicians.
Mireia Fbregas, MD, of the Institut Catal de la Salut, in Barcelona, Spain, and her colleagues randomized 1461 adult patients who requested same day appointments to see either nurses trained to respond to problems with low complexity or to see general practitioners. The study was conducted in 38 general practices in Catalonia, Spain, and 142 general practitioners and 155 nurses participated. The investigators measured how well patients' symptoms resolved and how satisfied patients were two weeks after the visit.
The investigators found that nurses successfully solved 86.3% of the cases. The health problem that nurses solved with greatest ease was burns, followed by injuries and acute diarrhea. Nurses were less successful at resolving low back pain, acute mild upper respiratory symptoms, and urinary discomfort. "This lower resolution could be explained by the fact that these problems require more complex physical examinations that are not usual in a nurse's daily work," said Dr. Fbregas. Patients who saw nurses were equally satisfied with their visit as those who saw doctors. When patients were asked about their preferences regarding which professional they would like to visit if a similar health problem arose again, more than 40% of patients in each group expressed indifference.
"This study could help to reduce resistance to change in both physicians and nurses, as well as in the general population, generating confidence in the care provided by nurses," said Dr. Fbregas. She and her co-authors noted that having nurses solve acute diseases of low complexity could help improve overall health care efficiency.
###
URL Upon publication: http://doi.wiley.com/10.1111/jan.12120
[ | 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.
Libby?s Sliced Beets comes in 8.25 ounce can. It is carefully selected and harvested at their peak of ripeness to provide farm-fresh flavor in every bite. These beet products add a delicious difference to meals whether served as a convenient side dish or as an ingredient in a favorite dish. Beets are low in calories, fat-free, and an excellent source of fiber. They add wonderful flavor and deep, rich color to meals and can be used in side dishes, salads and soups. Beets are also the secret ingre Read More ?
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Public release date: 21-Mar-2013
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